No, this clip does not show visuals of PM Narendra Modi’s recent rally in Rajasthan

By: Ishita Goel
April 23 2024

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A screenshot of a social media post claiming to show visuals from Modi’s rally at Jalore.(Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

On April 21, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of his campaign for the 2024 general elections, spoke at public meetings in Rajasthan's Jalore and Banswara. In his speech, he targeted the Congress party and also made a controversial, polarising statement regarding redistributing the wealth of people, quoting former PM Manmohan Singh. 

What is the claim?

Following the rally, a video went viral on social media, claiming that it captures the huge crowd in Jalore present at Modi's rally. 

A user shared the video and wrote, "Visual before Modi's rally today in Jalore Rajasthan. These visuals may give shivers to Congress, 10 lac people attended this rally. Ashok Gehlot's son is Congress candidate from Jalore (sic)." Another wrote in Hindi, "The wave in Rajasthan can be gauged from the crowd gathered at Modi Ji's Jalore rally (translated)..." Another iteration of the claim said, "This crowd is saying that even in Rajasthan, there is no one to compete with BJP." Archived versions of these posts can be viewed here, here, here, and here.

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the video dates back to 2019 and shows a Congress rally. 

How did we find this?

Through reverse image search, we found that a YouTube user had posted the exact same video on April 26, 2019, with the Hindi title "Ramseen, Jalore, Congress Meeting (date 25/04/2019)." The caption of the video, when translated from Hindi, read, "Watch today's video of Ramseen and you will know who is winning from Jalore in the elections."

A user on Facebook had also shared the same video on April 26, 2019, and wrote that it showed the massive crowd at Ramseen, Jalore district, at the public meeting of Congress Lok Sabha candidates, including Rahul Gandhi, Ashok Gehlot, and Sachin Pilot.

Taking a cue from the above social media posts, we performed a Google search and came across a very similar video shared by the Congress party on their verified Instagram account on April 27, 2019. The caption said, "It was a sight to behold as lakhs of people came to see and listen to Congress President @rahulgandhi at the mega rally at Jalore, Rajasthan." 

In this video, shot from almost the same spot as the viral clip, we were able to see the same structure with the white sloped roof in the distance.

Comparison of the viral clip to the Instagram video posted by Congress in 2019.(Source: X/INCIndia/Modified by Logically Facts)

Rahul Gandhi's 2019 rally in Jalore

The Congress's official X account had also posted Gandhi's speech at the rally on April 25, 2019, with the caption, "Congress President @RahulGandhi addresses public meeting in Jalore, Rajasthan. #NyayforRajasthan."

Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, back in April 2019, had posted images from the rally on his Facebook account. He captioned it in Hindi: "Sharing some glimpses from #RahulGandhi ji's massive public meetings in Jalore, Ajmer and Kota today.."

News 18 had also reported in 2019 that Gandhi was in Rajasthan to address three public meetings in Jalore, Ajmer, and Kota. He was in Jalore in support of Ratan Dewasi, the then-Lok Sabha candidate from the Jalore-Sirohi constituency. Vaibhav Gehlot, Ashok Gehlot, is now the Congress candidate from Jalore.

The verdict

A video of a Congress rally held in Jalore in 2019 is being shared to claim that thousands of people attended PM Modi's recent rally in the area. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.