An injudiciously cut video featuring Suvendu Adhikari, BJP’s Nandigram MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, in an official BJP WhatsApp group for the media, on Thursday afternoon, and leak of a screenshot of a purported WhatsApp chat among party leaders in Purulia have caused embarrassment for the otherwise social media-savvy party.

At 2.59pm on Thursday, came the 17-second video of an interaction between Adhikari and a Nandigram resident where the latter, possibly a complainant, was heard telling the MLA he had been expecting a call, which he never got.

The video was quickly withdrawn from the WhatsApp group and replaced at 3.01pm with a nine-second version of the video, with the villager’s comment omitted.

Since Wednesday night, a widely circulated screenshot, of the alleged WhatsApp chat between Purulia leaders of the BJP, purportedly discussing ways to malign the Mamata Banerjee government’s war effort against Cyclone Yaas by apparently exposing the victims of inundation to greater Covid-19 risk in crowded relief shelters, and to have it covered widely by pliant sections of the media. The BJP has officially denied this chat.

Although this paper was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video or the screenshot of the chat, numerous state and district level leaders of the BJP vouched for the veracity of both.

A state unit functionary said the two leaks “exposed” the BJP’s increasing disconnect with the masses even in the places where it won, given the leadership’s virtual absence from the ground since the results, and the desperation that drives it to the abuse of social and mainstream media for political mileage.

“I, for one, know for a fact that neither the video nor the screenshot was doctored. I cannot, for obvious reasons, state this on record. But it is utterly shameful, that we are yet to learn our lessons from the Bengal mandate,” he said.

In the video, the villager was seen and heard telling Suvendu that he is happy that the MLA has come to the village. Suvendu said: “Tumi nimotron korley ami ashboni, bipawdey porley ashbo (I’ll not come if you invite me, I’ll come when you’re in trouble). The villager said: “Baba Trilokeshwar mondirey ami ekta chithi likheychhilam, apni ektu phone-tao korleyn na (I had written a letter to the Baba Trilokeswar temple, you didn’t even call).” Suvendu’s car sped away, as he said: “Jai Shri Ram”.

Though what the villager was trying to say was unclear, several sources in the BJP said he was, in all likelihood, complaining about something, which is why the video was replaced promptly.

“Many people who voted for Suvendu are unhappy with his absence from Nandigram, even as our people there came under attack in the post-result violence…. The man in the video is clearly upset,” said a senior office-bearer of the BJP state unit.

In the screenshot of the purported group chat on WhatsApp, the names of six senior BJP leaders in Purulia appeared: district unit president Bidyasagar Chakrabarti, Purulia MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, Congress turncoat BJP MLA from Purulia Kaltuda (Sudip Mukherjee), district unit general-secretary Vivek Ranga, district unit general-secretary Alim Ansari, and Forward Bloc turncoat BJP MLA from Joypur Narahari Mahato.In the purported chat, Chakrabarti allegedly suggested that people who need shelter should be encouraged to go crowd schools (doubling as relief shelters) now, as it would ensure more Covid-19 infections, creating problems for the state government.

MP Singh Mahato allegedly asked Chakrabarti to issue the instructions and he would take care of media coverage by informing the “central”. Singh Mahato also allegedly said the BJP’s workers should be told to take more and more videos and photos.

At this point, Mukherjee allegedly said he does not think it is the right thing to do, and warned of Trinamul finding out about this.

Responding to Mukherjee’s purported remarks, Ranga, Ansari and MLA Mahato allegedly objected. While Ranga and Ansari said the party’s decisions ought to be complied with. MLA Mahato allegedly said it was a “good decision”, attributing it to Chakrabarti and Ranga, after asserting that “ora (they)” do politics, so “aamrao (we too)” will.

On Thursday afternoon, the BJP lodged a complaint with the police, alleging the screenshot was fake. Trinamul too lodged a police complaint, claiming it was genuine and demanding police action.

“We have received complaints from both the BJP and Trinamul. We have started a probe to find out whether the screenshot is real or fake. We will take action after the probe,” said Purulia police chief S. Selvamurugan.

Senior officials in Purulia said it was “very surprising” as large numbers of people started coming to the relief camps on their own.

“We had planned to evacuate around 50,000 people in our district. Over 72,000 showed up. Usually, we have to visit villages extensively and beg with people to leave their homes and come to the relief centres. This supposedly spontaneous visit is almost unprecedented,” said a senior official.

The BJP’s district unit chief Chakrabarti, however, insisted the screenshot was fake.

“If it is found that we were involved with it, we will go on our own to the police and surrender,” he said.