YouTuber behind Kolkata restaurant beef row, influencers, RJ and actors funded by BJP during Bengal polls
Citing the payments made to the youtubers and influencers, Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP of manufacturing a narrative of religious polarisation; BJP state spokesperson Debjit Sarkar defended the payments saying the party played by the book
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent over ₹286 crore on the West Bengal Assembly Elections, with details of expenditure now publicly available. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) report, a total of ₹55.76 crores were paid to 36 social media personalities by the BJP's central unit from New Delhi between March 15 to May 6.
Among these influencers, Sayak Chakraborty, a 31-year-old actor and YouTuber with 88,000 subscribers, received ₹2.5 lakhs for creating content for the party's advertisement on general propaganda. Additionally, Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused Chakraborty of deliberately manufacturing a narrative in exchange for money to create disharmony following a beef row at a Kolkata restaurant.
Another YouTuber, @Nonsane, received ₹13 lakh from the BJP, and his channel has over 3.5 lakh subscribers. Similarly, Bangladeshi singer Sangit Sarkar was paid ₹2 lakhs for composing songs criticizing the TMC government, while Pinakpani Ghosh, a former journalist and YouTuber with 2.4 lakh subscribers, received ₹5.25 lakh for critical analysis of politics and social issues.
Popular Bangladeshi singer and YouTuber Priyanka Sarkar, known as RJ Priyanka, received ₹15 lakh from the BJP for mocking TMC's direct cash transfer welfare schemes.
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