Having stepped down from the post after two of his remarks stirred up a huge political row, putting the Congress on the backfoot during the all-important Lok Sabha elections, Sam Pitroda has been reappointed the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. 

The reappointment was announced by the party in a statement on Wednesday.

Towards the end of April, when the first phase of the elections was over and the Congress was fending off a charge – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – that its manifesto had spoken of wealth redistribution, Mr Pitroda had added fuel to the fire by speaking about an inheritance tax.

Criticising the Prime Minister for claiming that the party’s manifesto spoke of snatching gold and women’s mangalsutras (a sacred ornament in Hinduism symbolising that a woman is married), Mr Pitroda, while speaking to ANI, ended up talking about the inheritance tax. 

“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That’s an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” he had said. 

The BJP latched on to this statement and claimed that the Congress’ hidden designs had been exposed.

Addressing a rally, PM Modi had said, “The advisor of the prince of the Congress royal family had earlier said that the middle class should be taxed more. Now they have gone further ahead. Now the  Congress is saying that it will impose an Inheritance Tax and tax the inheritance received by people from their parents. The wealth you accumulate with your hard work won’t pass down to your children. The Congress’s hand will snatch it.”

Even as the Congress was dealing with the fallout of that statement, Mr Pitroda ended up making another controversial comment in early May, which led to allegations of the party being divisive.

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, the Congress leader had described India as a “… diverse country… where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people in the North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africa.” 

As the controversy over this remark snowballed, the Congress announced on May 8 that Mr Pitroda had decided to step down from the post. 

“Mr Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had posted on X.

The Lok Sabha elections were held between April 19 and June 1. The Congress had managed to win 99 seats on its own, improving its tally from 52 in 2019, and the INDIA alliance clinched 232 seats. The BJP fell short of a majority, winning in 240 constituencies, but the NDA was comfortably over the 272 mark, ending up with a figure of 293. 

Bhopal/New Delhi:

Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan today travelled by train to reach Bhopal, weeks after he won the Lok Sabha elections from his home turf Vidisha.

Known for his down-to-earth approach, Mr Chouhan boarded the Shatabdi Express from Delhi along with his wife. 

He also spoke to the passengers in the train and posed with children. Some were also seen clicking selfie with him. 

Sharing his train travel pics on X – earlier known a Twitter – Mr Chouhan praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for “revolutionary changes” in the Indian Railways.

“Under the guidance of the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and the vision of Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw ji, Indian Railways is witnessing revolutionary changes in all areas of management and operations. Indian Railways is continuously working to meet the fast paced needs of New India and to make the journey of passengers economical, safe and comfortable,” he said.

आज नई दिल्ली से ‘शताब्दी एक्सप्रेस’ ट्रेन में यात्रा कर रहा हूं। इस दौरान यात्रा का अनुभव अत्यंत आनंददायक है।

आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के मार्गदर्शन तथा रेलमंत्री श्री @AshwiniVaishnaw जी के विजन से भारतीय रेल प्रबंधन और संचालन के सभी क्षेत्रों में युगांतरकारी… pic.twitter.com/LzwEN1UVOs

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (मोदी का परिवार ) (@ChouhanShivraj) June 16, 2024

ट्रेन के सफर का अपना अलग आनंद है, कुछ घंटों के सफर में सहयात्रियों के साथ आत्मीय रिश्ता बन जाता है। pic.twitter.com/PpZz2LupH4

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (मोदी का परिवार ) (@ChouhanShivraj) June 16, 2024

Ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan – who orchestrated the BJP’s thumping win in the Assembly election last year, but was stood down from returning in that role – is the new Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, replacing the BJP’s senior tribal leader Arjun Munda.

Mr Chouhan contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from his Vidisha stronghold, which he won by a margin of over 8.2 lakh votes; he won this seat in five consecutive elections between 1991 and 2004.

New Delhi:

After his controversial statement on the BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, RSS leader Indresh Kumar attempted to clarify his remarks by saying the polls show that those who opposed Lord Ram have been defeated while those who set the goal of restoring Lord Ram’s glory are in power.

Mr Kumar had sparked a row yesterday by stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was restricted to 240 seats, well below the majority mark, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls due to its “arrogance”. Speaking at an event near Jaipur on Thursday, Mr Kumar said, “The party which did bhakti of Lord Ram and became arrogant was stopped at 240; however, it became the biggest party.”

“And those who had no faith in Ram were stopped at 234,” he said, referring to the INDIA bloc. “See the ‘Vidhan’ of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did ‘Bhakti’ of Ram, but gradually turned arrogant, emerged as the biggest party; however, the vote and the power that they should have been given was stopped by God due to arrogance.”

Mr Kumar’s remarks sparked a row. The RSS leader sought to mitigate the damage by clarifying, “The mood of the country is very clear at present. Those who opposed Lord Ram are not in power; those who set the goal to respect Lord Ram are in power and the government has been formed for the third time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Mr Kumar’s remarks follow RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement a few days ago. Mr Bhagwat had said that a true ‘sevak’ should serve people without arrogance and maintain dignity.

The RSS yesterday sought to quell the suggestions of a rift with the BJP and that Mohan Bhagwat’s recent critical references related to the Lok Sabha polls were aimed at the ruling party, insisting that such claims are just speculation meant to create confusion.

“There is no rift between the RSS and the BJP,” RSS sources said, amid assertions by a section of people, including opposition leaders, that Mr Bhagwat’s remarks, including “true sevak is never arrogant,” were a message to the BJP leadership following its below-par performance in the polls.

“There was not much difference in his (Mr Bhagwat’s) speech from what he had given after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Any address is bound to make a reference to an event as important as national elections. But it was misinterpreted and taken out of context to create confusion. His ‘arrogance’ remark was never directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any BJP leader,” the sources said.

In his speech, Mr Bhagwat had on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year of conflict, criticised the common discourse during polls, and called for moving on instead of unnecessary discussion on the what and how of the elections after they were over and results were out.

Opposition leaders had seized on his remarks to take a swipe at the BJP and PM Modi. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said, “If not the ‘one-third’ Prime Minister’s conscience or the repeated demands of the people of Manipur, perhaps Mr Bhagwat can prevail upon the former RSS office-bearer to go to Manipur.”

Such claims by the opposition leaders are nothing but politics meant to spread confusion, the RSS sources said.

 

New Delhi:

India will hike road toll charges across the country by 3-5% from Monday, officials said, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the Lok Sabha elections.

Toll charges in India are revised annually in line with inflation and highway operators put notices in local newspapers announcing hikes of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from Monday.

“As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become effective from June 3,” a senior official at the National Highways Authority of India told Reuters.

The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.

High operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers and Ashok Buildcon Ltd will benefit from the toll increases.

India has invested billions of dollars over the last decade to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 146,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.

Toll collections jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2018/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.

India’s general election concluded on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance projected to win a big majority, TV exit polls showed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Sunday said he was worried after getting reports about post-poll violence in Sandeshkhali, and asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene immediately and restore peace there.

Speaking to PTI, Mr Bose said that he has written to Ms Banerjee asking her to inform him about the action taken against those involved in the incidents of violence in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district.

“I am a bit worried about the situation in Sandeshkhali. From the inputs I have received, I have come to know about incidents of attacks on the women of Sandeshkhali within hours after the polling was over yesterday. I have written to the Chief Minister about the steps taken in this regard,” Mr Bose said.

“If such attacks continue and the inhabitants are tortured, I will open the doors of the Raj Bhavan for them to come and stay here. They will be provided safe shelter here,” he added.

In less than 24 hours after the election was over, trouble-torn Sandehkhali on Sunday witnessed another round of skirmishes between women and the police when the personnel went there and detained one person in connection with attacks on policemen the previous night.

Women in Agarhati village in Sandeshkhali got involved in a fight with the Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, fell tree trunks, and blocked roads when the police went there in search of a few persons who had allegedly attacked them, a senior police officer said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Polling is underway for the nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal in the seventh phase on Saturday, marked by reports of violence and tension across various areas. Clashes were reported in the Satuliya area in Bhangar, within the Jadavpur constituency near Kolkata, between the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and CPI(M) supporters. The confrontation led to several injuries among ISF members, exacerbated by the presence of country-made bombs.

In Kultali, South 24 Parganas district, an angry mob forced its way into polling stations, seizing an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and throwing it into a nearby pond. This incident occurred after some polling agents were allegedly barred from entering the booths, prompting local residents to retaliate by seizing the EVM equipped with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and discarding it.

West Bengal: EVM machine was seen floating in water during voting in South 24 Parganas. pic.twitter.com/HInj1D7gLe

— IANS (@ians_india) June 1, 2024

“Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school, at 129-Kultali AC of 19-Jaynagar (SC) PC has been looted by local mob and 1 CU, 1 BU , 2VVPAT machines have been thrown inside a pond…FIR has been lodged by Sector Officer and necessary action has been initiated. Poll process in all six booths under the Sector is running uninterrupted. Fresh EVM and papers have been provided to the Sector Officer,” the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal said in a statement.

(1/2)
Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school, at 129-Kultali AC of 19-Jaynagar (SC) PC has been looted by local mob and 1 CU, 1 BU , 2VVPAT machines have been thrown inside a pond.

— CEO West Bengal (@CEOWestBengal) June 1, 2024

Tensions flared in Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha late Friday night and persisted into the early hours of polling. Local women, armed with bamboo sticks, protested against alleged threats from Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists and state police. They accused associates of the now-suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan, who is currently imprisoned, of intimidating their families. State police, however, claimed the unrest began after local BJP supporters assaulted civic volunteers.

Tensions also escalated in Canning in South 24 Parganas district, as clashes erupted between supporters of TMC and BJP within the precincts of Itkhola Gram Panchayat. There have been reports of stone pelting in the area in which a media personnel sustained injuries.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared videos of the protests, accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of using party goons and state police to intimidate voters.

In Bhangar, clashes between TMC and All India Secular Front (AISF) activists erupted early on Saturday, injuring a woman AISF activist. Additionally, the vehicle of AISF candidate Nur Alam Khan was vandalised, allegedly by Trinamool supporters.

Polling for the nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, including Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar, began at 7 am under stringent security measures. Voting will continue until 6 pm.

Prominent candidates in this phase include Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour, BJP’s Rekha Patra from Basirhat, and CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakraborty from Dum Dum. The polling is being conducted under heavy security, with 1,020 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the state, 978 of which are on polling duty. A total of 1,960 quick response teams (QRTs) are deployed statewide to address any tensions.
 

New Delhi:

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has said it acted within 24 hours to disrupt “deceptive” use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a covert operation that sought to influence the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

This influence campaign, called “Zero Zeno”, was run by STOIC, a political campaign management firm in Israel.

The threat actors attempted to leverage OpenAI’s powerful language models for tasks like generating comments, articles, social media profiles that criticised the ruling BJP and praised the Congress, the company led by CEO Sam Altman said.

“In May, the network began generating comments that focused on India, criticised the ruling BJP party and praised the opposition Congress party. We disrupted some activity focused on the Indian elections less than 24 hours after it began,” OpenAI said.

OpenAI said it banned a cluster of accounts operated from Israel that were being used to generate and edit content for an influence operation that spanned X, Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube.

“This operation targeted audiences in Canada, the United States and Israel with content in English and Hebrew. In early May, it began targeting audiences in India with English-language content,” the company said.

Responding to the report, the BJP called it a “dangerous threat” to the democracy.

“It is absolutely clear and obvious that @BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties,” said Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“This is very dangerous threat to our democracy. It is clear vested interests in India and outside are clearly driving this and needs to be deeply scrutinized/investigated and exposed. My view at this point is that these platforms could have released this much earlier, and not so late when elections are ending,” he added.

It is absolutely clear and obvious that @BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties.

This is very dangerous threat to our democracy. It is clear vested… https://t.co/e78pbEuHwe

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Modiyude Kutumbam) (@Rajeev_GoI) May 31, 2024

OpenAI said it has disrupted five covert operations in the last three months that sought to use our models in support of deceptive activity across the internet. “Our investigations into suspected covert influence operations (IO) are part of a broader strategy to meet our goal of safe AI deployment.”

Voting in Lok Sabha elections concludes on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly favoured to win a third term in office.

AFP explains how the poll has been conducted and what is likely to happen:

– How do people vote? –

All citizens aged 18 and above are eligible to vote — that’s 968 million people, according to the election commission.

Turnout during the last national elections was more than 67 percent, with nearly 615 million people casting a ballot.

India uses electronic voting machines (EVMs) that allow for faster counting of ballots.

Election officials travel by foot, road, trains, helicopters, boats, and occasionally camels and elephants, to set up polling stations in remote locations.

They are sometimes accompanied by security forces in areas with a history of insurgent violence.

– Why has it taken so long? –

The sheer number of voters means that, every time India holds a national election, it marks the largest exercise of the democratic franchise in human history.

A total of 15 million people worked on the polls, including people temporarily assigned from elsewhere in the civil service.

Complicating the challenge are electoral laws requiring that each voter is no more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away from a polling booth.

During this year’s election, a polling booth was set up for a single voter living deep inside a forest in the western state of Gujarat.

To ease the immense logistical burden, voting was staggered over six weeks from April 19, with the final round on Saturday.

– How much is it costing? –

Election and campaign spending have grown in tandem with India’s booming economy, now the fifth-largest in the world after overtaking former colonial master Britain in 2022.

An estimated $8.7 billion was spent by organisers, political parties and candidates in 2019, according to a report by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS).

Around a quarter of that figure came in the form of cash payments made directly to voters by candidates in an attempt to sway their decisions, the report said.

The same think tank told Indian media in February that it forecast spending to exceed $14.2 billion for this year’s contest.

That figure is almost on par with political spending in the United States for the 2020 congressional and presidential elections.

Have heatwaves affected the polls?

Turnout has dropped noticeably since the last national poll, with five out of the six phases recording a lower percentage of voters than 2019’s overall figure and the lowest at 62.2 percent.

Analysts have partly blamed the drop in voting on hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the Indian summer.

Tens of millions of people queued outside ballot stations during successive heatwaves across northern India that brought temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

In the city of Mathura, a three-hour drive from Delhi, election commission figures showed turnout dropping nearly nine points to 52 percent from five years earlier after hot weather.

The heat has also disrupted campaigning.

Roads minister Nitin Gadkari fainted while addressing a rally for PM Modi’s party in April and afterwards blamed the incident on discomfort “due to the heat”.

Officials in the eastern state of Bihar said on Friday 10 poll workers were among 14 people who died from heatstroke the day before.

– Who will win? –

Nearly all observers believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi will again prove an election winner, a decade after he first took office.

PM Modi, 73, remains robustly popular, with a Pew survey last year finding he was viewed favourably by nearly 80 percent of Indians.

His opponents have been hamstrung by infighting and what they say are politically motivated criminal cases aimed at hobbling challengers to PM Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Speculation has focused not on whether the BJP will win but on the magnitude of its victory, with party figures publicly confident the party and its allies will secure a two-thirds majority in the lower house.

Such a result would give it a freer hand to make changes to India’s nominally secular constitution and pursue other long-held ideological passion projects.

– When will we know? –

Publication of exit poll data while an election is in progress is illegal in India, so any indication of which way the vote is trending will only come on Saturday night after polls close.

Formal ballot counting begins on Tuesday, although the use of electronic voting machines means tallying will be quick. Results should be announced the same day.

The party with a simple majority of 273 or more seats in the lower house is invited to form a government with its choice of prime minister.

If no single party reaches that mark, India’s president will ask the leading party to try to put together a coalition.

In past decades that has led to days, and sometimes weeks, of intense horse-trading and negotiations between parties to cobble together a working majority.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The ongoing Lok Sabha polls is probably the ‘hottest’ election in India’s history, thanks to the scorching heat.

The elections, however, are definitely the most eco-friendly elections that have been ever held in the world’s largest democracy and Indians should be proud of that fact.

“Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” is an integral motto for environmentally sound election management practices, asserts the Election Commission of India (EC).

“Thanks to many environment friendly initiatives undertaken by the Election Commission of India, there is no doubt that the 2024 General Elections are the eco-friendly elections. Other than saving of huge paper due to use of EVMs, electronic means of filing complaints, directions were given for no use of single use plastic in electoral process,” said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar

“India has now set a new global benchmark for holding environmentally sustainable elections with a low carbon footprint’. Many eco-friendly polling stations were also set up” said Mr Kumar.

Rajiv Kumar has been at the helm since 2022 and holds a master’s degree in sustainability among his many qualifications. Mr Kumar has worked in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and was part of National Mission on Afforestation.

His other colleagues are also technocrats with green ideas: Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is a medical graduate and Shri Gyanesh Kumar is a trained civil engineer from IIT-Kanpur.

The use of 5.6 million EVMs in the elections has saved thousands of tonnes of paper. Each machine has a life of 15 years and easily three Parliamentary elections can be conducted using the same machines, in addition to three assembly elections. This makes the EVMs highly environmentally sustainable.

That paper wastage has been avoided is another positive aspect of deploying EVMs.

As per the Narrative Report of 17th Lok Sabha General Elections 2019 – which refers to General Elections 2004 – replacing the erstwhile voting method of using ballot papers, 1.075 million EVMs were used in 543 Parliamentary and 697 Assembly Constituencies making 14th General Elections fully electronic for the first time.

The use of EVMs in General Elections 2004, it states, saved around 1,50,000 trees which would have been cut for production of about 8000 tonnes of paper for printing the ballot papers if traditional system of ballot box was adopted.

During the period from 2004 to 2024 the elector base has increased from about 67.1 crores to 96.9 crores, i.e. an increase of 44.5%. Going by this, we may estimate that the use of EVMs in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, 2024 has contributed to the savings of about 11,520 tonnes of paper and prevented cutting down of about 2.15 lakh trees. This is a whopping lot paper.

The Election Commission has issued advisories on several occasions urging political parties and candidates to use only environment-friendly material and to avoid single-use plastic and non-biodegradable material. Noise pollution has also been minimal as political parties minimised the use of loudspeakers going around on vehicles and moved a lot of the campaigning to social media.

Protecting the environment is not an individual task but a collective responsibility and hence the EC urges all the political parties to avoid the use of plastic/polythene and similar non-biodegradable materials for preparation of posters, banners, etc.

With digitisation of various processes like online facilitation for registration of voters; Apps like Voter Helpline App, SUVIDHA portal, KYC App, cVigil, e-EPIC, PwD app, Voter Turnout App; online nomination facility for candidates; avoiding single use plastic in display materials for voter awareness; ensuring proper waste disposal management; has endeavoured to ensure environment friendly elections.

A major push has been given for eco-friendly infrastructure, with many local election officers adopting LED lighting, rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels in their office premises and EVM warehouses.

When the election dates were announced, the poll body had said that directions have been issued to the poll machinery to ensure “environmentally sustainable elections”.

“There should be no waste visible at polling stations across the country after casting of votes. It should be collected and disposed of as per rules. Less and less paperwork and how can we reduce the carbon footprint through recycling is our commitment and responsibility towards the environment,” said Mr Kumar.

The poll body actively promoted environmentally sustainable elections during the continuing Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Indeed, India should be proud of the global example it has set by holding environmentally clean and green elections.

Hyderabad:

The sixth phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections was held on May 25 in 58 constituencies across seven states and one Union Territory. As part of the sixth phase, polling was held for some seats in West Bengal, and sporadic incidents of violence were also reported, even while the highest polling percentage of 79.47 per cent was recorded here.

Against this backdrop, a video has gone viral with the claim that it shows security forces being attacked in a village in West Bengal.

An X user shared a video captioned, “Assaults on security personnel in a West Bengal village amid the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections. (translated from Telugu)”

A similar post can be seen here.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading as the video shows an attack on a BJP MP candidate and not just on the security personnel.

When we conducted a reverse image search of the viral video, we found several news reports related to the violent incident during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal.

BJP candidate Pranath Tudu from Jhargram in West Bengal was attacked by a violent mob on Saturday. A video of the incident shows a mob pelting stones and chasing Pranath and his convoy. As the attack took place, the security personnel responded quickly and took him safely away from the scene. A Times of India news report stated that a BJP leader’s car was also destroyed in the incident.

According to a post on X by ANI News dated May 25, miscreants attacked BJP candidate Pranath from the Jhargram Lok Sabha seat while he visited booth number 200 in Monglapota constituency.

#WATCH | West Bengal | BJP candidate from Jhargram Lok Sabha seat, Pranat Tudu was attacked allegedly by miscreants when he was visiting booth number 200 in Monglapota in the parliamentary constituency today pic.twitter.com/bfEYH7KgXT

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2024

Hence, we conclude that the claim is misleading as the video shows a BJP candidate being attacked by a mob in West Bengal.

Claim Review: The video shows security forces being attacked in a village in West Bengal during the sixth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Claimed By: Facebook User

Claim Reviewed By: NewsMeter

Claim Source: Facebook

Claim Fact Check: Misleading

Fact: The claim is misleading. The target of the mob was a BJP candidate from Jhargram, WB, and not just the security personnel.

(This story was originally published by NewMeter, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)