Video from 2022 municipal elections in Bengal is shared as proof of rigging in the recently concluded elections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 16, 2023
Update (16 May 2023):The same video is being shared again after the conclusion of recent assembly elections in Karnataka claiming that it shows fraud committed in a polling booth during voting. However, as explained below, the visuals are from the 2022 municipal elections in West Bengal.
Published (11 March 2022):
A video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that BJP rigged the recent state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video shows BJP rigging the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The visuals are from the recent municipal elections in West Bengal, not from UP. According to reports, the visuals of an agent casting the votes of others is from the 106 booth in ward 33 of South Dumdum municipality. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video with relevant keywords, the visuals of the same video were found on YouTube. The YouTube channel, TV9BanglaLive, had uploaded the video on 27 February 2022, stating that the visuals were taken during the 2022 West Bengal local body elections. According to this video report, the visuals of an agent casting the vote of others is from a booth in ward 33 of South Dumdum Municipality at Lakeview school.
Later, the same visuals were shared by the official Twitter handles of BJP and Congress in West Bengal, alleging that it was done by Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Recently, elections to 108 municipalities were held in West Bengal. Visuals of unrest, violence, and vote-rigging were reported by various news outlets and on social media platforms. The visuals in the viral video are reported to be from the 106 booth number of ward 33 in the South Dumdum Municipality.
To sum it up, a video from municipal elections in Bengal is shared as proof of rigging by BJP in the recently concluded 2022 UP assembly elections.