Recently, a screenshot of a tweet, purportedly by the official Twitter handle of BJP claiming that they have formed an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming West Bengal elections scheduled next year. The 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.

The fake screenshot shows a tweet by BJP's Twitter account dated November 20, 2020, which reads, "We have formed an alliance with AIMIM in upcoming WB elections"

A Facebook user shared the screenshot with the caption in Hindi that can be roughly translated to, "To win, they will go to any extent,  first they will fight and then they will make them fight among themselves, no one will pay attention to employment."

Many other Facebook and Twitter users are sharing the viral screenshot.

The truth behind the claim

In our investigation, we found that the viral tweet is doctored and fake. 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.

As mentioned on the fake tweet - November 20, 2020, at 1.52 pm, we checked BJP official Twitter page and 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.

Moreover, by comparing the fake tweet with an original tweet from the BJP account, we can notice that in the fake tweet, 'i' is small in the handle name @BJP4india whereas on the original account the I is capital. As per the viral screenshot, the tweet has got around 24 thousand retweets, however, it does not show any quote tweets which is unlikely if a tweet has gained so many interactions.

We also found multiple media reports stating that AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has proposed a pre-poll pact with Trinamool Congress to help defeat BJP.

In conclusion, the claim that BJP tweeted that they have formed an alliance with AIMIM for the West Bengal Elections is false. The viral screenshot of one such tweet by BJP is doctored and fake.