Fact Check: Old video of Yogendra Yadav calling election one-sided passed off as recent

As the counting for Lok Sabha elections begins, a video of psephologist turned political activist Yogendra Yadav is viral on social media. In the video, Yadav is seen saying that the BJP is ahead, describing the election as one-sided.

He also criticizes the opposition for being clueless and accuses the media of partisanship. The accompanying claim suggests that these remarks reflect Yadav's opinion before the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results.

“Look, these too have melted, even before the results. Now speaking: Useless opposition, One-sided election,” wrote retired IAS officer, Surya Pratap Singh, on X while sharing (archive) the video.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim misleading as the video is from 2019.

We conducted specific keyword searches and found an interview with Yogendra Yadav on the digital portal The Quint, published on May 19, 2019, titled “No Reliable Face in Opposition: Yogendra Yadav on Exit Polls.” The viral clip appears in the video starting at the 2:55-minute mark and ending around the 3:40-minute mark.

In the video, Yadav discusses the exit polls of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, arguing that due to a lazy, clueless opposition and partisan media, the BJP was predicted to win the 2019 elections as suggested by the exit polls at that time.

Yogendra Yadav replying to the post of Surya Pratap Singh said that he should be ashamed of sharing a clip out of a context from 2019. (Archive)

Hence, we conclude that the old video of Yadav is being falsely circulated as the recent ahead of the result of the 2024 Lok Sabah elections.