Voting for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 concluded on November 20, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance aiming to retain power, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is seeking a strong comeback. The elections covered all 288 constituencies, with results set to be announced on November 23.
A video of senior Maharashtra politician Sanjay Nirupam has gone viral on social media in the context of the elections. In the video, Nirupam can be seen urging voters not to waste votes on Congress and support the BJP.
Claim:
An X user shared the video and wrote, “Seeing the rising separatist forces in the country, the conscience of a Congress candidate Sanjay Nirupam ji has been awakened. He has appealed to the public to give their vote to BJP, Listen, countrymen, why did he say this…” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
A similar claim can be seen here. (Archive)
Investigation:
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video was from April 19 after Sanjay Nirupam was expelled from the Congress party.
We spotted that the mic in the video had ANI written on it. Using this clue for an online search, we found the original video on the ANI website. The report was titled ‘“Don’t waste your vote on Congress…,” Expelled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam’ dated April 19, 2024.
The date confirmed that the video is old and unrelated to the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The report stated that Sanjay Nirupam made an appeal to the voters on April 19 as polling began for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Nirupam urged voters to support BJP and criticised Congress, calling it a ‘heritage building in Mumbai’ that cannot adapt or change.
Additionally, the report refers to him as a former Congress leader.
Further investigation into Nirupam’s political affiliations revealed that he is no longer part of Congress. A report by The Hindu published on April 4, 2024, detailed that Nirupam resigned from Congress a day after being expelled for ‘indiscipline’ and repeated criticism of the party leadership.
Following his resignation, Nirupam joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) under Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde. According to The Economic Times, he was welcomed into the party in April 2024 and now serves as a deputy leader and spokesperson for the faction.
Conclusion: A video of Sanjay Nirupam criticising Congress and appealing voters to vote for BJP in Maharashtra is old, and is being shared as a recent video. The viral claim is misleading.
