West Bengal is voting today in the first phase of the assembly elections, with polling being held in 152 constituencies across north Bengal and several districts in the southern part of the state.
In the context of the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal, various images and videos have surfaced online. One such video shows a woman threatening to set the houses of voters on fire if they choose to vote for the BJP. The claim accompanying the video suggests that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader is threatening to destroy everything if people support the BJP.
Let’s check the truth
Fact check:
We started our investigation by conducting a keyword and reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to a similar video that was posted on the YouTube channel of Hindustan Times Bangla on 9 February 2022. The video report reveals that the BJP had given a ticket to Moushumi Das from ward number 10 in the Kharagpur municipal elections. This angered another BJP leader, Baby Kole. She threatened to set fire to the houses of voters if they voted for Moushumi Das. This indicates that the video is not recent and not related to the recent West Bengal assembly election.
Moving forward, we came across similar reports by News 18 Bangla and ABP Ananda. The report quoted Baby Koley as saying: “I decided to contest the municipal elections. Subsequently, money was demanded from me. I was told, ‘Didi, if you wish to contest, you will have to bear some expenses.’ Later, I noticed that they were harassing me relentlessly for a week. I then asked, ‘How much do I have to pay?’ They replied, ‘You need to pay ₹5 lakh for the ticket.’ They have selected and allotted tickets only to those individuals who purchased them. We will not allow the BJP’s votes to be cast anywhere else.”
The municipal corporation elections in West Bengal were held in February 2022. Baby Kole, who then later joined the TMC, was expelled from the party in July 2025 following her role in the public assault of veteran CPI(M) leader Anil Das.
When the video gained traction on social media, the West Bengal Police also debunked this claim and stated, “This video relates to an incident of 27 February 2022. It is being falsely circulated as recent incident. Legal action will be taken against those who are circulating this misleading video.”
So, it is clear that an old and unrelated video from 2022 is falsely shared as a recent incident involving a TMC leader threatening voters in the West Bengal election.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. This video is from February 2022 and shows BJP leader Baby Koley reacting to being denied a party ticket in 2022 Kharagpur municipal polls. It is unrelated to the current elections.
Title: 2022 video falsely shared as TMC leader threatening people not to vote for BJP in West Bengal
Written By: Usha Manoj
Result: Misleading
