BJP, media outlets share Holi video as people celebrating BJP victory in Bengal

by Ankita Mahalanobish

A viral video claiming to show people in West Bengal celebrating the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bengal assembly elections on May 4, 2026, is being widely shared on social media. The 27-second clip shows a large crowd chanting “Jai Sri Ram” on Howrah Bridge, giving the impression of post-election celebrations.

The video was also amplified by BJP’s Goa unit on Instagram, which shared a compilation suggesting that the gathering was in honour of the BJP’s electoral victory.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by BJP Goa (@bjp4goa)

This post received 7,600 views.

Right-wing X user Rishi Bagree also shared the video, with a caption implying that the celebrations on Howrah Bridge were due to the BJP coming to power. (Archive)

His post garnered approximately 390,000 views.

BJP supporter Raushan Sinha, who runs the X handle @MrSinha, shared the same video, claiming that people chanting “Jai Sri Ram” on Howrah Bridge was something “unimaginable just a few years ago.” He described it as a “turning point in India’s electoral history and civilization.” (Archive) 

This post accumulated around 25,500 views. It is worth noting that Sinha peddles misinformation and communal propaganda on a regular basis. 

Sushant Sinha, the consulting editor for Times Now NavBharat, posted the video on May 4, suggesting that “No one had ever imagined that the brainwashing of Bengal’s Hindus during the Left’s 34-year rule could be undone by the Modi magic, allowing Bengal’s Hindus to unite like this.” (Archive) 

This post garnered approximately 100,000 views.

Multiple news outlets, including Pune Mirror, Times Now Navbharat, and News18 India, shared the purported video with similar claims.

Several social media users shared the video, claiming it showed people celebrating the BJP’s victory in the assembly elections. 

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Fact Check

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral clip led us to an Instagram post dated March 4, 2026, exactly two months before the election results. The caption identifies the gathering as part of Holi celebrations on Howrah Bridge, with large crowds seen celebrating amid colours and chants of “Jai Sri Ram.”

It is the same video that has now gone viral.

The caption reads: “Jai Sri Ram! This time, Holi was celebrated with great enthusiasm on Howrah Bridge. Amidst colours, gulal, and excitement, the chant of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ echoed everywhere,” clearly indicating that the video is unrelated to any political event and predates the claim being made.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Prabhakar Jha (@prabhakar_girdhari)

Upon further investigation, we discovered several vlogs on YouTube that referred to a Rolls-Royce Holi celebration in Kolkata, which took place on March 1, 2026. One YouTube channel, Backbencher Street, published a vlog on that same day, capturing similar visuals and clearly audible chants.

 

At the 12:41 timestamp in the vlog, a crowd can be heard chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram.’ Additionally, at 2:52, the same vehicle visible in the very first frame of the viral video can be seen.

There are multiple other vlogs documenting the same Holi celebrations. 

The Bagla family’s Rolls-Royce Holi is a unique, century-old tradition in Kolkata, where a vintage 1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, once owned by author Rudyard Kipling, is used as a chariot for the idols of Radha and Krishna.

To sum up, the viral video is two-month old, showing a Holi celebrations on the Howrah Bridge. The claim that it depicts people celebrating the BJP’s victory on May 4 is false.

 

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