2019 visuals from a rally in Kolkata shared to show support for PM Modi in Rajasthan

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
April 22 2024

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Screenshot of the social media posts sharing a video with captions claiming that it shows visuals from PM's Barmer rally before the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What's the claim?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election rally in Barmer, a district in the North Indian state of Rajasthan, on April 12, 2024. Following this, a 30-second clip began circulating widely on various social media platforms as visuals from this rally, claiming that despite incensing the Rajput community, a huge crowd turned up for the rally.  

The video was shared by several users on X (formerly Twitter) with identical text in Hindi that read, "This is the tsunami after provoking the Rajputs. This is the tsunami of Barmer, Rajasthan. No matter how hard you try, PM Modi will be at the forefront."  Archives of such posts can be accessed here, here, and here. 

Screenshot of X posts. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

The same claim was shared on Facebook. Archive of one such post can be accessed here.

Screenshot of Facebook posts. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

The claim seemingly referred to a statement made by Parshottam Rupala, union minister and a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at a gathering of Dalits in Rajkot almost a month ago. He reportedly said that while maharajas (rulers of princely states) bowed down to the British and even married their daughters to them, the Rukhi Samaj (a Dalit community) remained steadfast.

This statement triggered a backlash from the Kshatriya (warrior ruling class) community. Despite Rupala's apologies, protests ensued, demanding his withdrawal from candidacy. Rajput groups stood firm, insisting on Rupala's removal as the BJP candidate from Rajkot. However, Rupala filed his nomination on April 16 amid protests. 

Now, the video that is being shared dates back to 2019 and shows a rally held in Kolkata, West Bengal.

What we found

On conducting a reverse image search on the keyframes, we found a post (archived here) published by BJP's official X account on April 3, 2019. We found that the viral video begins around 0:07 of this video. The post clearly mentioned that the video was from PM Modi's public meeting in Kolkata and was uploaded with the caption, "Electrifying atmosphere at PM Shri @narendramodi's public meeting in Kolkata." 

Comparison of the viral clip's screenshot with a screenshot from the BJP's official X account video in 2019. (Source: X/Screenshot/ Modified by Logically Facts)

The same video (archived here) was also uploaded by PM Modi's official X account on April 3, 2019. This shows that the viral video purportedly circulated as Modi’s recent campaign in Barmer is actually from the 2019 Kolkata event.

Source: X

Rally in Barmer 

We also found a video (archived here) of Modi's rally held in Barmer on his official YouTube channel. It was streamed on April 12 and shows a big crowd in attendance. However, the prime minister can clearly be seen wearing a different attire.

The verdict

Clearly, a video of PM Modi addressing a rally in Kolkata in 2019 has been shared as a recent video of him addressing a rally in Barmer, Rajasthan, before the second phase of polling.