Congress war room video viral as IT firm staff celebrating Karnataka poll results

Against the backdrop of Congress’s victory in the Karnataka elections, a clip has gone viral with the claim that it shows employees at an IT company celebrating the results. User @DalviNameet tweeted the video and garnered close to 2000 likes and retweets. The user wrote, “Celebration at an Indonesian based IT Co, @Anabatic_India Technologies in Bengaluru! We have to share this until it reaches their Co HR and if they can take action”. (Archive)

Celebration at an Indonesian based IT Co, @Anabatic_India Technologies in Bengaluru!
We have to share this until it reaches their Co HR and if they can take action. pic.twitter.com/zkQ4106cPm

— Madridista (@DalviNameet) May 17, 2023

Twitter Blue subscriber @RajeswariAiyer tweeted the clip and claimed that employees of Anabatic were celebrating Congress’ win. (Archive)

MNC tech co employees in Bengaluru (Anabatic technologies) owned by some Japs celebrating BJP defeat in Karnataka…
Company name/logo visible at 1:02 time of the video. pic.twitter.com/eE8rhobsyn

— RajeIyer (@RajeswariAiyer) May 22, 2023

Several other users also shared the clip with the same claim, including verified user @trunicle. (Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4)

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The clip is viral with the same claim on Facebook as well.

Fact Check

We found that the social media coordinator for Indian Overseas Congress had tweeted the viral clip on the day of the results of the election with the caption “Celebrations will continue like this for some time & who else can celebrate more than the war room guys ??? It’s your day guys enjoy”.

Celebrations will continue like this for some time & who else can celebrate more than the war room guys ??? It’s your day guys enjoy ❤️🔥#KarnatakaElectionResults pic.twitter.com/7JotEDAvFF

— Vijay Thottathil (@vijaythottathil) May 13, 2023

Paul Koshy, who was part of Congress’s state-level election war room, also tweeted several videos and images in a thread documenting the functioning of the war room. The Anabatic Technologies nameplate can be seen in the videos that Koshy tweeted.

And the team danced in the War Room pic.twitter.com/A5ASZauZZw

— Paul Koshy (@Paul_Koshy) May 13, 2023

In one of his tweets, he was seen posing with Sasikanth Senthil who was appointed the chairman of the War Room for Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. Senthil can also be seen in the viral video.

Working with #ShashikanthSenthil @s_kanth ,ex IAS , now Head of the War room was one of the most enriching experiences pic.twitter.com/3ZNgxo8B8e

— Paul Koshy (@Paul_Koshy) May 13, 2023

Sasikanth Senthil, too, tweeted images from the War Room on May 13. The people celebrating in the viral video are also seen in Senthil’s tweet.

In a statement refuting the viral claims, Sasikanth Senthil told Alt News, “It is the Congress War Room. It is a rental space which was earlier used by the said company. Hence, the board is there. Anabatic Inc has nothing to do with the celebrations”.

We noticed that India Today also had visited the War Room on the morning of May 13. The people seen in the viral video are also visible in India Today’s coverage. “We have a dispersed model because we have very clear-cut functional distribution. We work in these functional areas in different centres and this (the War Room) is where we coordinate everything, this is where we come for end-of-the-day coordination and all the sections feed into this particular space” Senthil told India Today journalist Preeti Choudhry.

We also looked up Anabatic Technologies India’s profile on Zauba Corp and noticed that the company was currently under liquidation.

Thus, a viral video of workers in the Congress War Room celebrating Congress’ win in the Karnataka elections is viral with the claim that employees of IT company Anabatic Technologies India are celebrating the win. In reality, the office space used as Congress’s War Room was earlier used by the company, which is currently under liquidation.