An old video of Sanjay Nirupam asking voters to vote for BJP and criticising Congress is shared as recent

A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) shows ex-Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam appealing to voters to avoid wasting votes on Congress and support the Bharatiya Janata Party. The video is being shared in the context of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, which concluded on 20 November 2024, covering all 288 constituencies. Results will be announced on 23 November 2024. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.

Claim: A video shows ex-Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam appealing to voters to support the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024.
Fact: The viral video is not recent. On 19 April 2024, as polling began for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Nirupam appealed voters to support the BJP and its allies, while criticizing Congress as an outdated “heritage building” unable to change the country’s situation. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.

A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to a report from April 2024 featuring the same video. The report titled “Don’t waste your vote on Congress…” identifies Sanjay Nirupam as a former Congress leader recently expelled from the party. On 19 April 2024, as polling began for the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Nirupam urged voters to support the BJP and its allies, criticizing Congress as an outdated “heritage building” incapable of changing the country’s situation.

Further investigation revealed that Sanjay Nirupam is no longer associated with Congress. Reports (here and here) published on 04 April 2024 state that he resigned from the party a day after being expelled for ‘indiscipline’ and persistent criticism of the party leadership.

After resigning, Sanjay Nirupam joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) under Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Reports (here and here) indicate that he was welcomed into the party in April 2024.