A screenshot purporting to show a tweet by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) official Twitter handle stating that they have formed an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming West Bengal elections scheduled next year, is doctored and fake.
The fake tweet is being shared in the backdrop of Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM for the first time winning five seats in the recently held assembly elections in Bihar. AIMIM made a dramatic entry in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region cornering seats that traditionally went to older opposition parties like Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal. The Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged victorious.
The fake screenshot shows a tweet by BJP's Twitter account dated November 20, 2020, which reads, "We have formed alliance with AIMIM in upcoming WB elections"
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On searching with the same caption, we found that the fake screenshot is being shared with the false claim.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Also Read: 2016 Clip Of Kejriwal Alleging Owaisi-Shah 'Secret Deal' For Bihar Polls Revived
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral screenshot of the tweet is fake, and no such announcement regarding an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming West Bengal elections next year was tweeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) official Twitter handle.
On checking the date mentioned on the fake tweet - November 20, 2020, at 1.52 pm with the BJP's Twitter timeline, we did not find any such tweet tweeted on that day. We also performed a Twitter advanced search and did not find any replies to a deleted tweet on that day at that time.
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We compared the fake tweet with an original tweet from the BJP account on November 20, 2020, and one can notice that in the fake tweet, 'i' is small in the handle name @BJP4india whereas on the original account the I is capital.
According to the viral screenshot, the tweet is claimed to have got around 24 thousand retweets, however, it does not show any quote tweets which is unlikely if a tweet has gained so many interactions.
Additionally, we did not any credible news reports on the BJP declaring an alliance with the AIMIM for the assembly elections in West Bengal, which would have been covered if there was any such announcement.
BOOM has previously debunked misinformation regarding the AIMIM, when a 2016 clip of Arvind Kejriwal alleging a 'Secret Deal' between Akbaruddin Owaisi and Amit Shah for the 2015 Bihar polls was shared as recent.
Also Read: 2019 Video Of 'Booth Capture' In Haryana Shared As Bihar