A viral video claiming to show police slapping and lathi-charging Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers during campaigning on polling day in West Bengal is misleading, a fact-check has found. The clip is being circulated on social media amid the ongoing Assembly elections, where the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force and campaigning is prohibited after voting begins.
The verification was carried out by fact-checking platform Boom Live, which found that the video is not related to the current elections.
What the viral claim says
The video shows a police officer slapping and using force against two men sitting beside a TMC banner. It is being shared on X with the claim that TMC workers were campaigning near polling booths and were punished by police on voting day.
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The caption accompanying the video alleges, "Some peaceful workers of the Trinamool Congress are sitting on the roads near polling stations, campaigning for Trinamool. And then see what happened."
However, there is no evidence linking the video to the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections.
तृणमूल कांग्रेस के कुछ शांतिप्रिय कार्यकर्ता मतदान
— Arun Yadav Kosli (@ArunKoslii) April 23, 2026
केंद्रों के पास सड़कों पर बैठकर तृणमूल के लिए प्रचार कर रहे हैं
फिर देखिए क्या हुआ pic.twitter.com/3g2WMNKhOw
What the fact-check found
Boom Live analysed the video using reverse image search techniques. Key frames from the clip were run through Google Lens, which showed that the footage dates back to 2023.
The same video was found uploaded on a Facebook page named 'Popular Halliday ganj' on July 29, 2023, indicating that it predates the current election cycle.
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Further keyword searches led to a News18 Bangla report featuring the same visuals. According to that report, the incident took place during the 2023 panchayat elections in Basanti, located in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
The report stated that tensions had escalated in the area after allegations of bombing surfaced on the night before polling. Bombs were reportedly found on the roadside on the morning of the election, causing panic. Police were deployed to control the situation and were seen dispersing crowds, at times using force.
The viral claim is misleading. The video is from the 2023 panchayat elections in Basanti and has no connection to the ongoing West Bengal Assembly polls.
