After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s rally in West Bengal on March 2, a video was shared on social media. It is being claimed that BJP workers distributed cash to lure people to attend Adityanath’s rally.
(Viral Hindi text: पश्चिम बंगाल में सीएम योगी की रैली में भीड़ जुटाने के लिए भाजपा कार्यकर्ताओं ने देर रात बाटें पैसे)
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Birendra Kumar Yadav tweeted on March 2.
पश्चिम बंगाल में सीएम योगीजी की रैली में भीड़ जुटाने के लिए भाजपा कार्यकर्ताओं ने देर रात बाटें पैसे😅..@yadavakhilesh pic.twitter.com/dyWYJcOhRK
— Birendra Kumar Yadav🇮🇳 (@BirendraYdvSP) March 2, 2021
Twitter user @sudheer__ydv and some Facebook users also posted this video.
Old video shared with the false claim
At the 25-second mark in the video, a man sporting a t-shirt that says, “अबकि बार 65 पार” (Beyond 65 this time) is visible.
A keyword search using the text on the t-shirt revealed that it was used by BJP during the 2019 Jharkhand assembly polls held between November 30 to December 23. The phrase was also reported by various media outlets. (1, 2, 3, 4)
हम झारखण्ड में विजय के विश्वास के साथ चुनाव मैदान में हैं। झारखण्ड में भाजपा अबकी बार 65 पार के इरादे से चुनाव मैदान में है- श्री @PrakashJavdekar, केंद्रीय मंत्री #AbkiBaar65Paar
— BJP JHARKHAND (@BJP4Jharkhand) November 17, 2019
Jharkhand and Bihar-based news outlet News Wing had posted the video on October 17, 2019. As per the description, Rs 200 rupees was offered to those who attended former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das’s rally. Alt News couldn’t verify the claim.
This was earlier fact-checked by Aaj Tak.
A 2019 video that shows BJP members allegedly bribing people to attend Jharkhand’s former CM Raghubar Das’s rally was shared with the false claim that it was taken ahead of Yogi Adityanath’s West Bengal rally.
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