An old photo of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters making the party's lotus symbol as part of a human formation, in a 2015 Gujarat event, is being shared with the false claim that it shows Kerala welcoming Yogi Adityanath for his 'Vijay Yatra' on Sunday.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath flagged off the Vijay Yatra as part of BJP's rallies in poll bound Kerala. In the coming weeks, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to visit and speak in Kerala as part of the final leg of the rally to be held in Thiruvananthpuram on March 7, 2021.
The photo is being shared with various claims all claiming that it shows Kerala welcoming Adityanath. One of the claims reads, "Yogi Ji In Kerala and the other says, "This is not a painting. These are a sea of people who came to listen to UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Kerala today as he flagged off BJP's Vijaya Rally in the state."
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The viral posts can be seen below and their archived versions are available here, here, and here.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search and found the photo in an article published by Mint on April 7, 2015 about the 35th foundation day celebrations of the BJP in Gujarat.
The Indian Express, in a story published on April 7, 2015, carried the same picture and reported the event as, "to celebrate its 35th foundation day, the BJP created a spectacle at a college ground in Dahod by forming a huge party flag with around 25,000 supporters. Dressed in green, saffron, black and white, the supporters formed a "human flag" over one lakh square foot area at a college campus with the party's symbol — lotus — standing out in a sea of saffron and green. Chief Minister Anandiben Patel visited the venue to view the 'human flag'."
The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi had also tweeted an aerial view picture of the event on April 6, 2015, with an URL link of Desh Gujarat website.
A video published by The Quint shows the same visuals.
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