Congress, TMC leaders share old video as post-poll violence in Bengal

The results of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections were declared on May 4. The Bharatiya Janata Party secured an absolute majority with 207 seats, while the ruling Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80. Following the results, reports of violence, arson, and vandalism targeting political offices emerged from several parts of the state.

Amid this, a video linked to the West Bengal Assembly election results has gone viral on social media. It shows a massive fire engulfing several shops as people scramble to evacuate goods from nearby establishments. A crowd can be seen gathered at the spot, while firefighters and a fire engine attempt to douse the blaze. The video also shows a Trinamool Congress flag hoisted atop one of the shops. Many users have shared the clip claiming it depicts post-poll violence and vandalism in West Bengal.

Congress leader Srinivas BV also shared the viral video, taking a swipe at the BJP’s landslide victory by claiming that “achhe din” had finally arrived in Bengal.  (Archive link)

Sharing the video, Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad wrote that Amit Shah’s goons were involved in riots, arson, looting, and theft in West Bengal. The Godi media is busy praising the BJP’s fraudulent victory, he claimed. (Archive link)

A user named Mohammad Asif Abbas tweeted the viral video, writing that all the goons, criminals, terrorists, and rapists in West Bengal who were hiding in their holes out of fear of Mamata Banerjee had come out because their leader has formed the government. (Archive link)

पश्चिम बंगाल में अब तक जितने भी गुंडे, बदमाश, आतंकवादी और बलात्कारी ‘ममता बनर्जी’ के ख़ौफ़ से बिल में दुबक कर बैठे थे… वो सभी बिल से बाहर निकल आए हैं…

क्योंकि उन के सरबराह की सरकार बन गई है ! pic.twitter.com/Koz5LijXC4

— mohd Asif Abbas (@MOHDASIFABBAS3) May 4, 2026

Media outlet Brut India shared the viral video on its Instagram handle, linking it to the violence and vandalism that were reported from West Bengal. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee also used this Brut India report in his video. And this video was reshared by Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra.

Fact Check

We performed a reverse image search on Google with key frames from the viral video. We found the video uploaded by a Facebook user named SK Biky on April 25. Since the results of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections were announced on May 4, the video cannot be related to post-poll violence.

Some users claimed this video was from a fire in Santoshpur on the suburbs of Kolkata. Alt News, however, could not verify this independently. However, it is conclusively proven that the video as been on the internet even before the second phase pf polling was held in West Bengal (on April 29).

Therefore, it cannot be a scene of post-poll violence.