In a video, TMC's Chief Election Strategist Prashant Kishor is reportedly heard telling a group of journalists on live audio conversation hosting platform Clubhouse about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity has been soaring West Bengal.
Just as the voting got underway on 44 seats in the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party shared truth-bombs reportedly dropped by the Trinamool Congress party's Chief Election Strategist Prashant Kishor on a social media platform.
In a video being widely circulated over social media, the Kishor is heard telling a group of journalists on live audio conversation hosting platform Clubhouse about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity has been soaring West Bengal.
Is it open?
That moment when Mamata Banerjee’s strategiest realised that the Club House room was open and his admissions were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalist.
Deafening silence followed...
TMC’s election was just thrown away! pic.twitter.com/2XJ4RWbv3K
Stating that there is no anti-incumbency against Prime Minister Modi, Kishor is allegedly heard saying, "There is a cult of Modi which has been created across India, the degree could vary. The Hindi-speaking population is Modi's core base. The anti-incumbency (in West Bengal) is against the state government. And yes, Modi is popular here, very popular."
"In our surveys, we have found that Modi and Mamata are equally popular. Modi is very popular. Bengal has not had a taste of the BJP -- That is a factor. What people have not seen in 30-35 years, people feel that BJP could do something that they never saw. People want to test (the BJP). There are three factors (in favour of BJP) -- polarisation, anti-incumbency and SC votes," the strategist is reportedly heard saying.
The BJP is using the over 2-minute clip as a "confession" from the Trinamool Congress about the popularity of Prime Minister Modi.
Sharing and reacting to the leaked clip, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said that "the TMC's election had just been thrown away".
"Another candid admission by Mamata Banerjee's election strategist -- all that the Left, Congress and TMC ecosystem have done in the last 20 years is Muslim appeasement," he added.
Even though Prashant Kishor did not deny making the admissions, he has told BJP to release the complete transcript of the conversation. He also reiterated that BJP will not cross the 100-seat tally.
I am glad BJP is taking my chat more seriously than words of their own leaders!😊
They should show courage & share the full chat instead of getting excited with selective use of parts of it.
I have said this before & repeating again - BJP will not to CROSS 100 in WB. Period.
Meanwhile, some of the journalists who were part of the Clubhouse chat have come out and defended Prashant Kishor, and claimed that the conversation has been manipulated.
People have taken out one small part of a long free wheeling chat about Bengal elections, and twisted it to suit their purpose.
Prashant Kishore said he was even more confident about Bengal after the 3 phases, when pressed by journos during a conversation https://t.co/yzcZvAATe9