This video does not show Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah dancing

Hyderabad: A video allegedly showing the newly sworn-in chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah dancing has gone viral on social media.

A Facebook user shared the video with the caption, “Siddaramaiah Energetic Dance…Congress Continues winning streak in Karnataka…#karnatakaassemblyelection2023.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video shows Channamahagowda, a farmer from Mysuru, dancing and not Siddaramaiah.

We ran a keyword search and came across a Bangalore Mirror report from 14 March 2018. The report is titled “‘Dancing CM’ is a farmer from Mysuru” and carried a clearer version of the same video.

As per the report, the video went viral in 2018 with the same claim that it shows Siddaramaiah dancing. It clarified that it shows a Siddaramaiah lookalike dancing to the tunes of “Alladsu Alladsu” from the movie ‘Chowka.’ It mentioned that the man in the video is a 55-year-old farmer, Chanmaayi Gowda, from Mysuru who was dancing at a cultural programme organised as part of the agriculture workshop at Kaggalipura near Kanakapura Road.

We also came across a 2018 report from Asianet Newsable titled “Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s lookalike of ‘Alladsu-Alladsu’ fame joins Congress.” It said Channamayigowda contested against Siddaramaiah as an Independent from Varuna constituency in 2013. He later joined Congress. It also said Channamayigowda is a farmer from Bannur, T Narasipur Taluk in Mysuru.

We also found a video interview of Channamayigowda on the YouTube channel of Asianet Suvarna News published on 1 March 2018. The video is titled “Exclusive: CM Siddaramaiah’s Look-Alike Fan Talks About His Viral Dance.”

Hence, we conclude that the viral video does not show Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah dancing, and the claim is false.