Did Sanjay Nirupam criticize the Congress during the 2024 Maharashtra elections? No, the video is old

Demand: The video shows Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam appealing to voters to vote for the BJP in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Fact: The statement is misleading. The video is old, from when Nirupam was expelled from the Congress party.

Hyderabad: vote for Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 ended on November 20 with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seeking to retain power while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) seeks a decisive comeback. The elections covered all 288 constituencies and the results will be announced on November 23.

A video of senior Maharashtra politician Sanjay Nirupam has gone viral on social media in the context of elections. The video shows Nirupam urging voters not to waste their votes on the Congress and support the BJP.

User X shared video and wrote, “Seeing the rise of separatist forces in the country, the conscience of Congress candidate Sanjay Nirupam ji has been awakened. He appealed to the public to cast their votes for the BJP. Listen, compatriots, why did he say this…” (Translation from Hindi) (Archive)

A similar statement can be seen Here. (Archive)

Fact checking

NewsMeter found this claim to be misleading. The video was shot on April 19 after Sanjay Nirupam was expelled from the Congress party.

We noticed that the microphone in the video said ANI. Using this clue to search the internet, we found the original video on the ANI website. report was titled “Don’t waste your vote on Congress…” Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam expelled on April 19, 2024.

The date confirmed that the video is old and has no connection with the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The report said Sanjay Nirupam addressed voters on April 19 when polling began for the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Nirupam urged voters to support the BJP and criticized the Congress, calling it a “heritage building in Mumbai” that cannot adapt or change.

He is also mentioned in the report as a former Congress leader.

Further investigation into Nirupam’s political affiliation revealed that he is no longer a member of the Congress. Report Hindu published on April 4, 2024, details that Nirupam resigned from the Congress a day after he was expelled for “indiscipline” and repeated criticism of the party leadership.

After his resignation, Nirupam joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) under the leadership of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. According to Economic timeshe was admitted to the party in April 2024 and is now deputy leader and faction spokesman.

Therefore, an old video of Sanjay Nirupam criticizing the Congress is being circulated as a recent video.