Fact Check: ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ campaign – BJP’s van vandalised? No, video is from 2024
A video of people vandalising a campaign vehicle of the BJP has been circulating online, claiming that it is recent.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:Congress’s recent ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ campaign has led to public chasing and vandalising the BJP’s campaign vehicle.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the audio of people chanting ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ has been digitally added.
Hyderabad: On August 14, Congress launched the ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ campaign following Rahul Gandhi’s press conferences. The Congress MP alleged systematic voter list manipulation by the BJP in collusion with the Election Commission.
Gandhi presented alleged evidence claiming duplicate voters, invalid addresses, bulk registrations and software-based deletion of thousands of votes in constituencies across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar.
In this context, a video showing the public vandalising the BJP’s campaign vehicle has been circulating on social media. The video also features people shouting the slogan ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod.’
An X user shared the video with the caption, “The slogan ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ has sparked a revolution in the country. BJP’s branding van is also being chased away!” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Another X user shared the video with the caption, “For the first time in 11 years, it feels like the people of my country have woken up!”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is from 2024 with the slogan added digitally.
We noticed the BJP’s 2024 campaign slogan, ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’, on the van. We also found users commenting (here and here) on viral posts that the video is from 2024. This slogan on the vehicle confirmed that the video predates August 14.
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframe led us to an extended version shared by an X user on May 5, 2024. The post stated that the video shows public anger against the BJP in Haryana.
This video does not feature the ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ slogan.
Also, the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on May 7, 2024, which further confirmed that the vandalism of the campaign vehicle occurred during the 2024 elections.
NewsMeter could not independently verify the location where the video was filmed. However, we confirmed that the video is from 2024, and the slogan was digitally added to it.
Therefore, we conclude that the claim suggesting the public is vandalising the BJP’s campaign vehicle due to Congress’s recent allegations that the BJP is indulging in vote theft in collusion with the Election Commission is false.
