{
  "id": 10128083,
  "title": "YouTuber behind Kolkata restaurant beef row, influencers, RJ and actors funded by BJP during Bengal polls",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/youtuber-behind-kolkata-restaurant-beef-row-influencers-rj-and-actors",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-27T03:20:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/youtuber-behind-kolkata-restaurant-beef-row-influencers-rj-and-actors-funded-by-bjp-during-bengal-polls/article71513379.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "SIR row: Congress' Khera questions EC over Form 6, says Bengal & Bihar polls ‘illegal’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/sir-row-congress-khera-questions-ec-over-form-6-says-bengal-bihar",
        "published": "2026-09-27T05:02:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}