Fact Check: Jubilee Hills bypoll – Kavitha backs Congress pick Naveen Yadav? No, here’s the truth
Ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-elections, a video showing former MP and former BRS leader K Kavitha walking with the Congress candidate, Naveen Yadav, is going viral as her giving support to his candidacy.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows former MP K Kavitha supporting Congress candidate Naveen Yadav in the upcoming Jubilee Hills bypoll.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows Naveen Yadav and Kavitha at a wedding in Mancherial on May 30. The Telangana Jagruthi president has not made any statements supporting the Congress candidate.
Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued the official notification for the Jubilee Hills by-election on October 13. The bypoll, which was necessitated by the death of sitting BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year, will be held on November 11, and counting will take place on November 14.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced Naveen Yadav as the party candidate on October 8.
The BRS party has recently been hit by internal tensions, with the suspension of Kalvakuntla Kavitha, former MP and daughter of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, on September 2. Kavitha is now leading Telangana Jagruthi, a social and cultural organisation.
In this context, a video showing Kavitha walking alongside Naveen Yadav is going viral on social media. The video shows Kavitha, dressed in a white and red saree, and Naveen Yadav, wearing a light brown kurta, walking together and interacting with people.
The video is circulating with the claim that Kavitha has given her support for the Congress candidate Naveen Yadav in the upcoming bypoll.
An X user shared the video with the caption, “Kalvakuntla Kavita garu will be in favour of @PingNaveenYadav in the Jubilee Hills by-election. #NaveenYadav #kavitha #TeamNY #Congress #JubileeHills #TelanganaByElection #VoteForChange (sic)” (Archive)
Posts making similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is from May 30 and does not show Kavitha supporting Naveen Yadav, the Congress candidate for the Jubilee Hills by-elections.
Using a reverse image search, we found that the viral footage was shared by an Instagram user on June 1. The user shared the same footage on August 11 as well.
Further, we found the video shared by an X account called Kalvakuntla Kavitha Office (@OfficeOfKavitha). The bio of this profile reads “Office of Smt Kalvakuntla Kavitha - Former MP, Telangana Jagruthi President”.
On May 30, an X post from this account shared images of Kavitha at a wedding, in the same outfit seen in the viral video. A comparison of screenshots from the viral video and the X post can be seen below. (Archive)
The X post caption reads, “Attending the wedding of his office employee Zillu Praveen Yadav held in Mancherial, MLC Mrs. @RaoKavitha blessed the bride and groom.” The images also show Naveen Yadav.
We also found a news report published on the same day by ABN Andhra Jyothi with the title, ‘Kavitha: No party that has allied with Kamal has fared well’.
The cover image in the report also showed Kavitha in the same outfit. The report said that Kavitha spoke to the media in Mancherial on May 30 and denied having any personal agenda. She said that she will not be silent when anyone speaks against her father, KCR.
A Disha report also shared an image of Kavitha in the same outfit and stated that she came to Mancherial on May 30.
The report stated, “As per her pre-scheduled program, she attended a wedding ceremony at the local Padmanayaka Kalyana Mandapam, blessed the newlyweds, and then returned to Hyderabad.”
We also spoke to Kavitha’s team, who confirmed that the video is old and not related to the Jubilee Hills bypoll.
A member of Kavitha’s team told NewsMeter, “The viral video is very old; it’s not recent. It was shot when Kavitha garu was in Mancherial, attending the wedding of Jillu Praveen Yadav. Naveen Yadav, who is a relative of Pradeep, received Kavitha garu at the wedding.”
Did Kavitha make any statement expressing support for Naveen Yadav for the bypoll?
We did not find any news reports or credible social media posts stating that Kavitha has announced her support for the Congress candidate for the upcoming Jubilee Hills bypoll.
According to a V5 News Telugu report on October 15, the former BRS leader told the media that the bypoll is a small matter and that the entire Telangana has to be covered. She said that Telangana Jagruthi is not involved in the Jubilee Hills polls.
The video report does not show her making any statement in support of the Congress candidate, Naveen Yadav.
It is clear that the viral video is from May 30, when the former MP K Kavitha attended a wedding in Mancherial. She also has not made any announcements in support of the Congress candidate for the Jubilee Hills by-elections, Naveen Yadav.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
