<h1>Senior leader alleges opposition insulted residents with deleted social post, raising defamation and election messaging concerns ahead of polls</h1> A senior government leader publicly accused an opposition party and its alliance of insulting residents of a particular state by circulating a now-deleted social media post that compared the state with a tobacco product, framing the remark as defamatory and politically damaging ahead of assembly elections. The leader criticised past local governance by rival parties, alleged security and migration concerns, and touted government welfare measures and regulatory action benefiting farmers. The statements raise issues of political speech, potential reputational harm, and electoral messaging that could be relevant in defamation, election law and campaign-regulation contexts.