Controversial YouTuber joins BJP: Why is Manish Kashyap making news again

Manish Kashyap was in jail for months after posting videos that wrongly said Bihari migrants had been attacked in Tamil Nadu

YouTuber Manish Kashyap, who was in jail for nine months after being arrested last year for posting fake videos showing attacks on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu, joined the BJP on Thursday. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari welcomed him to the party in Delhi.

“When I was in jail, my mother was fighting for me and she knows who all supported me at that time. My mother told me not to disobey Manoj Tiwari bhaiya and that I must listen to him,” said Kashyap, 34. “My mother is a big fan of Narendra Modi ji. She asked me to strengthen the hand of Modi ji and expose those who are anti-nationals. I am very happy to join the world’s biggest political party,” he said, referring to the Prime Minister.

Kashyap had declared that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate in West Champaran constituency of Bihar and challenge BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal. Joining the BJP removes him as a contender for the seat.

Manoj Tiwari, a Bhojpuri singer and actor, visited Kashyap's village, Dumri Mahanwa in West Champaran, in January when the YouTuber was release on bail in December 2023.

Who is Manish Kashyap?

Tripurari Tiwari, aka Manish Kashyap, runs a YouTube channel called 'Sach Tak' that has 8.75 million followers.

He contested the 2020 Bihar Assembly election as an independent candidate in the Chanpatia Assembly constituency. He fell behind BJP and Congress candidates, securing just 9,239 votes.
 

Kashyap is no stranger to controversies. In 2019, he was first accused in an FIR for allegedly engaging in illegal fundraising via social media.
 

More FIRs were filed against him in 2019 for allegedly endangering the life of a police official and endorsing vandalism after the defacement of a statue of King Edward VII at Maharani Janki Kunwar Hospital in West Champaran district.

Kashyap had publicly advocated for the vandalism of the King Edward VII statue under the guise of nationalism, sharing numerous photos and videos on social media.

During the same year, he was arrested in connection with an assault on Kashmiri shopkeepers in Patna in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

Manish Kashyap arrested in fake news case

In March last year, the Bihar Police’s Economic Offence Unit (EOU) lodged an FIR against Kashyap in a case related to the sharing of a fake video of alleged attacks on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu.

The fake video had created panic among Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. According to the police, Kashyap was the mastermind and was booked under several penal codes.

A four-member Bihar government committee visited Tamil Nadu and returned to inform the Bihar Chief Minister’s Office that purported videos of attacks on Bihari migrants were fake.

Following the FIR, Kashyap fled and was arrested a week later. Prior to his arrest, the EOU froze Rs 42.11 lakh in his bank accounts.