Clipped Video Shared To Claim TMC Expects 15-16 Seats in First Phase of WB Polls

The claim about Mondal saying that the BJP would secure 130 seats is misleading.

A video of TMC leader Anubrata Mondal is being shared to falsely claim that he said the TMC would only get 15-16 seats in the first phase of polling in the West Bengal elections.

(Source: X/Altered by The Quint)

A video of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal is being widely shared on social media, after the first phase of polling in the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections concluded.

What does he say?: In the video, Mondal says, "I have never seen such polling in my life, with 96, 97, 98 per cent poll turnout. Out of the 152 seats, I had first said 130 for the TMC, but now I doubt even 15–16 seats will be won. (sic)"

The claim: The video is being shared to claim that Mondal predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win a majority of the votes during the first phase of polling, while the TMC may not even get 15 or 16 seats.

Who shared it?: This claim was shared by Darjeeling MLA Raju Bista and BJP worker Keya Ghosh.

An archived version of this post can be seen here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archived versions of more claims can be seen here and here.)

But...?: The claim is misleading, as the video lacks important context.

• The longer version of Mondal's statement shows that he was speaking about the TMC getting 130 seats, with him expressing doubts about the BJP securing 15-16 seats.

How did we find out the truth?: We ran a reverse image search on the video, which led us to a report published by Ei Samay after the conclusion of the first phase of polling in West Bengal.

• It carried a photo of Mondal in the same clothes, along with a video of his statements from a press conference.

This is a translated version of the report.

(Source: Ei Samay/Screenshot)

• Here, we came across a longer version of the video where Mondal was asked about the first phase of polling in the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections.

• The report quoting him as saying, "With the rate of votes, the BJP will get 15-16 seats out of the 152 seats in the first phase, if not more."

• We also came across a video posted by their Facebook page, where he said, "I have never seen such polling in my life, with 96/97/98 percent poll turnout. Such a high turnout means votes are in Didi’s favour. Out of the 152 seats, I had first said that 130 would go to the TMC, but now I doubt whether even 15–16 seats will be won (by the other party)."

• Later during the conference, he was asked about the TMC's potential seat tally in the elections, and he said, ""As I said, it may even go up to 240. I have been saying 230–235. I have never seen such voting in my lifetime."

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