Kolkata, Apr 5 (IANS): The war of words between Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah and singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo, who is the Trinamool Congress candidate for the forthcoming Ballygunge Assembly bypoll in Kolkata, is now out in the open.

On Monday, Shah came out with a video message seeking support for his niece, Saira Shah Halim, who is the CPI(M) candidate for the Ballygunge bypoll. In the video message, without naming Babul Supriyo, Shah made a reference to Supriyo's shift from the BJP to the Trinamool Congress last year.

"I am not a member of any political party. I am seeking votes individually. Whether you will elect any person who shifts political ideology frequently or any person who stands by the people? So, in the Ballygunge bypolls I am seeking support for Saira Shah Halim," Naseeruddin Shah said in the video message.

Reacting to the video posted by Shah, Supriyo in a Twitter message late on Monday night raised doubts on whether Shah had to issue that video message because of pressure from the CPI(M).

"We all love & respect #NaseerUddinShah. An absolute legend & now playing a doting Real-Life Uncle. Awww!. He has received both PadmaShree & PadmaBhushan but sadly he looks very gloomy in the video. Seems @CPIM_WESTBENGAL forced him to record this but the video is so adorable," Supriyo tweeted.

Supriyo, a two-time BJP Lok Sabha member from Asansol constituency in West Burdwan district of West Bengal, also became a minister in the Narendra Modi-led Union government. However, soon after the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls, he joined the Trinamool Congress and also resigned as the Asansol MP.

The Trinamool Congress this time has nominated him as the party candidate for the Ballygunge assembly bypolls. The BJP has fielded former journalist, Keya Ghosh. The byelection for the Ballygunge seat was necessitated because of the demise of Trinamool Congress legislator and the state panchayat minister, Subrata Mukherjee on November 4, 2021.