A video showing people chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in a residential complex has been widely shared on social media with a false claim that it shows scenes from Maharashtra ahead of the upcoming state elections in November 20, 2024.
BOOM found that the video is from February 15, 2022 and was recorded at Divinity Homes, a society in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, during the 2022 UP assembly elections. At that time, several Hindu organisations were urging people to vote 'keeping nationalism in mind'.
All 288 state seats will be contested in a single phase on November 20, with vote counting on November 23 for the 2024 assembly elections.
In the viral video, people in the society are seen standing on their balconies chanting "Jai Shri Ram." Additionally, an appeal can be heard in the video urging people to vote on the "20th with nationalism in mind".
A Facebook user shared the video and wrote, "The video is from Maharashtra. Hindus are waking up."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
News channel India News has also shared the video claiming it to be from Maharashtra.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a related keyword search on Google to verify the viral claim and found the video was uploaded on a Facebook page on February 17, 2022. Taking a cue, we were able to find several related videos.
One such video was posted by a Facebook page called Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal Block Banskhoh, which stated it to be a footage of a 'Prabhat Pheri' (morning walk) in Kanpur. The caption of the post reads, "Prabhat Pheri, Kanpur West, this society reverberated with the slogans of Jai Shri Ram."
A Facebook post from February 15, 2022, also shared the same video and claimed that it showed the 14th day of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's daily 'Prabhat Pheri'. The post mentioned that the Prabhat Pheri took place at Navsheeldham Society in Gautam Nagar, Kalyanpur, covering various apartments including Ratan Orbit Apartment, Kanha Shyam Apartment, Divinity Home Apartment, Gulmohar Apartment, Imperial Height Apartment, and Indira Nagar.
Following this, we ran a related search using Google Maps and confirmed that the video was recorded at Divinity Homes society in Indiranagar, Kalyanpur, Kanpur. Several other videos from the same colony can also be found on the Facebook page named Divinity Homes, Kanpur.
In addition, the viral video includes an appeal to vote on February 20. During the 2022 UP Assembly Elections, the third phase of voting took place on February 20, 2022, for 59 seats across 16 districts, including Kanpur.
