A purported WhatsApp conversation in which Tarakeswar BJP MLA Santu Pan is allegedly heard abusing party workers and threatening to assault one of them has triggered a political controversy in West Bengal.

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In the viral audio clip, the legislator is purportedly heard saying, ‘I was a goon before becoming an MLA.’

The authenticity of the audio recording has not been independently verified by Mathrubhumi.

The recording, which has circulated widely on social media, features the voices of three individuals allegedly involved in a conversation between Pan and two BJP workers.

Apart from the alleged remark about his past, the MLA can purportedly be heard using abusive language and making derogatory comments about the convenor of the BJP's Arambagh organisational district.

According to BJP sources, the controversy stems from a police complaint lodged by a young party worker from Bhandarhati against a BJP worker close to the Tarakeswar MLA.

The development allegedly angered Pan, who is accused of confronting the worker over the matter and threatening to beat him up.

The Mamata Trinamool Congress page also shared the audio recording, triggering a political exchange between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.

Asit Majumdar, convenor of the Trinamool Congress's Hooghly-Srirampur organisational district, criticised the BJP over the controversy and alleged that the party was plagued by internal conflicts.

‘These are fights over shares and spoils. BJP workers are attacking their own MLA in some places, while in others, MLAs are assaulting party workers. The language used by the Tarakeswar MLA is beyond anything that can be repeated publicly. He himself says he was a goon. The BJP is a party built around goons and strongmen. People have understood this culture. When it comes to development, the party has nothing to show,’ Majumdar said.

Meanwhile, the young man allegedly heard in the WhatsApp conversation claimed that he was a BJP worker and described the dispute as an internal party matter.

He also denied having circulated the recording or giving anyone permission to make it public.

‘I am a BJP worker. There should not have been any problem between us, and even if there was one, it was an internal party matter. But I do not know who made this audio viral and why. I did not send it to anyone to make it viral, nor did I give anyone permission to do so. I have asked everyone to delete it,’ he said.

The controversy has brought the alleged internal discord within the BJP's Hooghly unit into the political spotlight, with the viral recording becoming the latest flashpoint between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the state.