As India proceeds with its voting on Friday, April 26, marking the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across 88 constituencies in 12 States and one Union Territory (Jammu and Kashmir), a video featuring Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) leader Atishi surfaced on social media. In the video, she encourages voters not to hesitate to support candidates with dubious backgrounds, such as goons or thugs, to challenge the BJP.
The Facebook post reads: अगर गुंडे को वोट देना पड़े, तो गुंडे को दे देना क्योंकि मोदी को हराना है – आतिशी मारलेना और यह आये थे राजनीति बदलने 🤡. (English translation: If you have to vote for a goon, then vote for the goon, because Modi has to be defeated. – Atishi Marlena And this is why we entered politics: to bring about change.)
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral post, and found it to be misleading.
With a relevant keyword, the NM team spotted a report by The Indian Express, dated April 28, 2019 and titled: Atishi draws flak for ‘goons’ remark, Singhvi says poor campaigning by BJP!,’ highlights Atishi’s remarks during a public gathering at Tikona Park. Atishi suggested that the SP-BSP alliance could overpower the BJP in UP, stating that even if their candidates had a criminal record, voters should support them to defeat the BJP.
The newspaper also featured a comprehensive recording of Atishi’s speech, which was uploaded by The Okhala Times YouTube channel on April 19, 2019, under the title ‘Atishi Marlena at Tikona Park.’ The clip, which became viral, can be found at the 37:18-minute mark. In the video, the AAP leader urges voters to oppose the BJP and consider voting for candidates, even those with dubious backgrounds, to counter the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Therefore, we can conclusively say that viral video is old and shared with misleading claim.
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