Did people of Karnataka chase BJP cadres away ?
Congress, BRS and their supporters spread disinformation that the BJP cadres are beaten up by Karnataka voters but the video is from Telangana.
Rating
Claim
The below video explains the mood of #Karnataka voter. The amount of agony, angst & pain is real and evident on the ground 👇 #KarnatakaElection2023
Explanation
Karnataka is in full election mode with parties crisscrossing the state with rallies and roadshows. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress’ Ex-MP Rahul Gandhi too have been frequenting the state. While BJP is looking forward to retain power, Congress is trying to harvest the anti-incumbency to their advantage and get back in power. A video of BJP members being chased away is now shared in social media by several Congress supporters and some Bharat Rashtra Samiti supporters including its social media convenor with a claim that it is from Karnataka and it shows the mood of the Karnataka voters. See here, here and here.
ಖಾಲಿ ಕುರ್ಚಿಗಳ ಸಮಾವೇಶ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಗೆ ಜನಾಕ್ರೋಶ ದರ್ಶನ ಮುಂದುವರೆದಿದೆ.
ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ಪ್ರಚಾರ ವಾಹನವನ್ನು ಕಂಡರೂ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಅಸಹ್ಯ, ಆಕ್ರೋಶ ಹುಟ್ಟುವಂತಾಗಿದೆ.
ವಾಹನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಕಲ್ಲೆಟುಗಳೂ @BJP4Karnataka ಯ ಬೆಲೆ ಏರಿಕೆ, ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ, ವಂಚನೆ, ದುರಾಡಳಿತಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಉತ್ತರಗಳು. pic.twitter.com/0vNtX4weih
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 24, 2023
Archive Link to Karnataka Congress Tweet | Archive 2
What’s the truth?
With a keyword search coupled with reverse image search, we were able to ascertain that the video is from November 2022 in an election rally in Telangana. Munugode, a constituency of Telangana Legislative Assembly, is one of the 12 seats from the district of Nalgonda.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy was elected as an MLA from Munugode in Congress (INC) ticket. In late 2022, he defected from Congress and joined the BJP, after he resigned from his post of MLA triggering a by-election, which he contested from a BJP ticket and lost to BRS’ Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy.
On 1st November 2022, BJP conducted an election rally in Palivela village in Munugode headed by Eatala Rajender. During the rally, violence broke out between BJP and the BRS party members, as it has been alleged that the BRS cadres attacked the BJP’s election convoy and BRS had made similar allegations against the BJP. The viral video was taken during this election rally in Telangana which can be seen in the videos below.
#WATCH | A clash broke out allegedly between TRS and BJP workers, on the last day of the Munugode by-election campaign, in Telangana's Nalgonda pic.twitter.com/afCFABmY83
— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2022
Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister For Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), had also tweeted regarding the incident along with a video from a different angle.
Violence and tyranny has no place in democracy and this will be re-established with the mandate Munugode will provide in the ensuing by-election.
2/2 pic.twitter.com/7SIWkaj8eV— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) November 1, 2022
The incident was widely covered by news outlets which can be seen here, here, here and here. Sowmith Yakkati, a journalist, posted a tweet on 1st November 2022, along with a video from the incident.
Clash between #TRS & #BJP in #Munugode. Just couple of hours before campaigning ends. Clash broke out. #BJP vehicles vandalised and supporters thrashed. Police dispersed the crowd and said investigation will be launched. #Telangana pic.twitter.com/HfCgrUNBUR
— Sowmith Yakkati (@sowmith7) November 1, 2022
So, an incident from Telangana that took place during the by-election of Munugode is being shared in social media by Karnataka Congress claiming that it is from the poll-bound Karanataka which is set to vote on May 10, 2023.
Conclusion
The claims made by Karnataka Congress, Y Sathish Reddy & other supporters of Congress and BRS that the BJP cadres are beaten up and chased by people of Karnataka is false. The video is from different political clash in Telangana between supporters of the BJP & BRS.
