An unrelated CPI(M) rally from Tamil Nadu is falsely shared as a Kerala rally in support of recently killed Maoist leaders
Top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju — the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) with a ₹1 crore bounty — was killed in a major anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur on 21 May 2025. Just days later, on May 24, Pappu Lohara, head of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad with a ₹10 lakh bounty, was gunned down by security forces in Jharkhand’s Latehar district.
Amid these developments, a video (here, here and here) is viral on social media showing a rally with participants in red attire chanting slogans on the streets. It was claimed that this was a CPI(M) party rally from Kerala in support of the slain Maoist leaders, Basavaraju and Pappu Lohara. Let’s verify the truth behind this video.
Claim: The viral video shows a CPI(M) rally in Kerala held in support of slain Maoist leaders Nambala Keshav Rao and Pappu Lohara.
Fact: The video actually shows the Red Volunteer March held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on 06 April 2025, during the CPI(M) Party Congress conducted from April 2 to 6, many days before the deaths of the Maoist leaders. It has no connection to Kerala or any protest supporting them. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we conducted a keyword search on Google to check if any such rally had been held in Kerala related to the recent encounter deaths of Nambala Keshav Rao and Pappu Lohara. However, no such reports were found. On closely examining the viral video, we noticed that the slogans being chanted were in Tamil, not Malayalam, which is spoken in Kerala. Additionally, the shop name boards and other signage along the roadside were written in Tamil script, further indicating that the video is likely from Tamil Nadu, not Kerala.
To verify the truth, we performed a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the same video uploaded on X on 19 May 2025 — a date that predates the confirmation of the deaths of both Nambala Keshav Rao and Pappu Lohara. We then conducted a keyword search using terms like “CPIM rally in Tamil Nadu,” which led us to the official YouTube channel of CPI(M) Tamil Nadu. There, we found the full rally footage uploaded on 9 April 2025, titled “Full-length parade footage of the Senthondar Brigade. #CPIM24thPartyCongress #CPIM24thCongress.”
A side-by-side comparison of the viral video and the official CPI(M) video shows a clear match in nearby buildings, an under-construction structure, and visible flex boards, confirming both videos are from the same event.
We also found an X post by Su Venkatesan, a CPI(M) MP from Tamil Nadu, who shared an aerial view video of the same rally on 07 April 2025. In his post, he mentioned that the rally took place in Madurai and that around five lakh people participated. This clue helped us narrow down the location. Based on the place name and using date filters, a keyword search on Google led us to reports (here, here and here) confirming that the rally was the Red Volunteer March held on the concluding day of CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress in Madurai. The Congress, held from April 2 to 6, 2025, featured large participation, battalions named after past martyrs, slogans, cultural events, exhibitions, and tributes — all showcasing the party’s history and ideology.
Additionally, we geo-located the area using Google Street View and found a match near the Airport-Matuthavani Ring Road in Madurai. In the viral video, a shop named Muthupandi Mahal Cooldrinks is visible, which we also spotted on Google Street View. All these confirm that the viral video is not from Kerala, as claimed, but from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and that it predates the deaths of the Maoist leaders mentioned in the misleading post.
To sum up, an unrelated CPI(M) rally from Tamil Nadu is falsely shared as a Kerala rally in support of recently killed Maoist leaders.