In the video, named ‘aei bhabe-o phire asha jaay’ (this way can also be returned)’, Bhattacharya’s AI avatar spoke on issues ranging from Sandeshkhali to unemployment and allegations of corruption in West Bengal, attacking the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). Sexual harassment and land-grabbing allegation against ruling TMC leaders in the North 24 Parganas district has been a major poll issue in West Bengal. The video also targeted the BJP-ruled Centre over demonetisation, electoral bonds and inflation.
“Hello, how are you all? It is very difficult for us to be good in this difficult situation of the country and the world. What is happening in West Bengal? There is no excuse for the wrong done by Trinamool in Sandeshkhali. There is no employment in the state; there is no respect for women, and the state is becoming an arena of corruption. We (the CPM) were beautifying the state. We said there will be art and agriculture will improve. Hundreds of children will be employed. On the other hand, the riotous BJP is sitting in power at the Centre; corrupt BJP…” the AI avatar of Bhattacharya, 80, said.
Attacking the BJP, the video continued, “Demonetisation, the corporates are satisfied. Now, corruptions like electoral bonds… The prices of daily necessities are increasing. The economy is in a shambles. The BJP and RSS are spreading communal hatred every day. Remember the growth of the BJP in Bengal during the Trinamool period. Who is Narendra Modi? Who is this Mamata Banerjee? Don’t give them a chance to destroy our country, our state. Let the candidates of Left, democratic and secular forces win this election. The fight is ahead. This fight must be fought. This fight must be won.”
A CPI(M) leader and editor of its mouthpiece Ganashakti, Samik Lahiri, told The Indian Express, “If Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had been fit to appear before the public, this would definitely have been his appeal to the public during this Lok Sabha elections. Six constituencies of West Bengal have voted across the first two phases of Lok Sabha elections 2024 and the remaining 36 will go to poll across the next five phases, beginning with the third phase on May 7.
A senior CPI(M) leader said, “Our supporters and comrades made this AI video. Generally, lakhs of rupees are spent to make such videos, but our expense became nominal because all the comrades did their job without any remuneration.”
Bhattacharya, the chief minister of Bengal from November 2000 to May 2011, lives in a small two-room government apartment in south Kolkata’s Ballygunge area. He suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has rarely left home in the last few years. He was last seen outside in 2019 when he went to a CPI(M) rally but could not attend due to a dust allergy and returned home.
This was not the first time during the Lok Sabha election that the CPI(M) had used AI. It had introduced an AI anchor named ‘Samata’, which means equality.