2009 photo of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is falsely linked to upcoming UP Assembly Elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 11, 2021
A photo of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a saree and ringing a temple bell is being shared on social media with a claim that it shows Priyanka Gandhi wearing Indira Gandhi’s saree ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections-2022. This post claims that Congress Leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was using grandmother sentiment for the assembly elections campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wearing Indira Gandhi’s saree ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections-2022 campaign.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an old one. This photo was shot in 2009, when Priyanka Gandhi visited the Durga temple in Amethi as part of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections campaign for Rahul Gandhi. This photo has nothing to do with the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found posted by few social media users in 2018. So, it can be concluded that the image shared in the post is an old one and is not related to the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
When we searched with other keywords using a time filter, the same photo was found to be uploaded by ‘Pressbrief .in’ on Flickr. In the description, it can be read that the photo was taken on 12 April 2009 when Priyanka Gandhi visited a Durga temple during the election campaign for her brother Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. Other similar photos can be found here.
Also, the photos related to her temple visit in 2009 can be found on the ‘Getty Images’ and ‘Outlook’ websites. However, we could not find any information about her saree.
While the image shared in the post is old, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the Ravidas temple in Varanasi, early this year. The news articles regarding her visit to the Ravidas temple can be read here and here. In February 2021, on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, Priyanka Gandhi took a holy dip at the Sangam in Allahabad.
To sum it up, a photo from 2009 falsely shared as ‘Priyanka wearing Indira’s saree as Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections-2022 are coming up’.