The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday described Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut as the “clown of Indian politics” over his post directed at US President Donald Trump over the West Bengal Assembly election results, and accused the opposition of “tarnishing” India’s image internationally.
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The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that “serious concerns” had arisen regarding the conduct of the elections and alleged that there were complaints of “fear, intimidation and systematic pressure”.
In response, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Raut, as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, are making such statements in his opposition to Modi.
“Sanjay Raut is the clown of Indian politics. He and Rahul Gandhi entered into (a contract) to tarnish India’s image for petty internal political battles and in opposing Modi, they are opposing the country,” Poonawalla said in a video clip on Channel
The BJP leader said that Indian democracy was praised globally, but opposition leaders were spreading what he called false narratives about electoral processes.
“Indian democracy is welcomed all over the world and this man is complaining about India because of facts that don’t even exist,” he said.
Referring to the BJP’s performance in the West Bengal Assembly polls, Poonawalla said people across the world are reacting to the result and claimed that reports suggest that Trump also congratulated the BJP.
“It appears that Trump also congratulated the BJP on this victory. Sanjay Raut is so upset that he is writing a long post on X explaining to Donald Trump how the election is rigged and everything is unfair,” he added.
Poonawalla claimed that opposition parties frequently question constitutional institutions when election results do not go in their favour.
Earlier, in his post, Raut had also alleged that the “Election Commission did not act impartially” and claimed that its action appeared to favor the BJP, which raised “questions about institutional neutrality”.
He also questioned the deployment of central forces during the elections and claimed that they created “coercion, not trust.”
Citing concerns raised by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Raut said the allegations about the fairness of the process reflected a “broader concern” that could not be ignored.
Raut said in his post: “Democracy is not just about elections, it is about ensuring that they are free, fair and credible. When serious allegations arise, they deserve scrutiny, not celebration,” asking for a more balanced vision from Trump.
