Petrol-Diesel Price: Has BJP Govt Hiked Fuel Rates As Voting Concludes Today In Bengal? Fact Check

Social media posts circulating widely claim that the central government has increased the prices of petrol and diesel as voting for the final and last phase in West Bengal comes to an end today.

The claim emerged amid speculation that the BJP-led government, which had frozen fuel prices despite rising global crude costs, might announce a hike once polling ended in five states - West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The posts suggested the increase had already taken effect, triggering criticism from users.

As per the claims, the government has hiked petrol price by ₹10 and diesel price by ₹12.50.

The post came a day after the BJP-led Centre on Tuesday ruled out a hike in petrol prices as the international oil prices touched 110 dollars a barrel due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

"There is no proposal to increase petrol and diesel prices," Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said at a press conference.

On asking whether the Centre was considering hiking the fuel prices after elections, she said, "LPG, petroleum and diesel are available in sufficient amounts, and the prices have not increased, so please do not panic,"

Is It True That Centre Hiked Oil Prices Today?

A review of official sources, including the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas website, government press releases, and the social media channels of Minister Hardeep Singh Puri - found no announcement or confirmation of any fuel price revision.

No credible media house has reported any such hike.

Last week, Sharma acknowledged that state-owned fuel retailers were incurring significant losses, roughly ₹20 per litre on petrol and nearly ₹100 per litre on diesel, because pump prices had remained frozen for almost four years even as global crude surged. Despite this, the government has maintained that there are no plans to increase retail prices immediately.