BJP Candidate Khagen Murmu Faces Flak Over Kissing Woman During Poll Campaign in Bengal; TMC Reacts

BJP candidate from West Bengal’s Malda Uttar constituency Khagen Murmu was caught on camera kissing a woman on her cheeks during an election campaign, TMC claimed. A controversy erupted after pictures of the incident surfaced on the internet on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Monday when Murmu was campaigning in Chanchal’s Srihipur village in West Bengal. The ruling TMC in the state alleged that the BJP candidate was seen kissing a woman on her cheeks in the live stream of the campaign, which was shared on his Facebook page but was later deleted.

TMC Reacts to Pictures of BJP Candidate Kissing A Woman

The ruling TMC in West Bengal shared the incident on microblogging site X and wrote, “If you cannot believe what you just saw, let us clarify. Yes, this is BJP MP & Maldaha Uttar candidate @khagenmurmu kissing a woman on his own accord on his campaign trail. From MPs that sexually harass ween wrestlers to leaders who make obscene songs about Bengali women; BJP camp has no dearth of anti-women politicians. This is how Modi Ka Parivar engages in Nari Ka Samman! Imagine what they would do if they came to power.”

TMC’s Malda vice president Dulal Sarkar condemned the incident questioning if such an act was committed by the candidate while “begging for votes”, an India Today report said.

BJP Candidate Khagen Murmu Responds to Controversy

Khagen Murmu, on the other hand, said the girl in the picture was “like his child”. He also accused the TMC of editing the image which reflects their “dirty mentality”.

“The picture was posted by someone from Trinamool and it is slightly edited. This is the reflection of their dirty mentality. The girl who is being kissed is a child of our family. Daughter of one of our workers, studying nursing in Bangalore. Good results. So I gave her a little care. We do the same to our own children. And both her parents were standing next to her. Even today I am campaigning in that area. No one took it badly. The Trinamool is scrambling for votes,” Khagen said, reported HT Bangla.

The BJP candidate was quoted by India Today as saying that a complaint will be filed against TMC.

“There is nothing wrong with kissing a child. This is a complete grassroots conspiracy. They have such bad values. Parties and individuals are being defamed by distorting such pictures,” he said.