Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was made to wait outside the room when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was filing her nomination papers for the Wayanad Parliamentary by-election.
Fact
Viral video was clipped. Photos and video showed the Congress president sitting right next to Priyanka Gandhi when she was filing her nomination papers.
A 48-second video clip, purportedly showing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge waiting outside a room, went viral across social media platforms on October 23, 2024, claiming that it was taken on Wednesday when Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was filing the nomination papers for her maiden electoral battle from Wayanad for the Lok Sabha bypoll.
The video was shared by multiple BJP functionaries and social media accounts of the party, including their official X account and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who criticised the “disrespect” shown towards a veteran Parliamentarian and Dalit leader like Mallikarjun Kharge, while adding that the video was evidence of the Congress party being an anti-Dalit and anti-OBC party.
“The way Mallikarjun Kharge ji was kept out of the room during Priyanka Vadra’s nomination, in the same way, after removing reservation, Rahul Gandhi will deprive the Dalit community of respect and opportunities. If the Gandhi family can insult Kharge ji like this, then one can understand how much hatred they have in their hearts for the Dalit community,” read an X post by BJP Nagaland, dated October 24, 2024.
Leading media outlets such as Times Now and News18, too, reported on the video, stating that a row had erupted as the BJP claimed the Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was “shunted out” when Priyanka Gandhi was filing her nomination papers.
Fact Check
Newschecker saw that the viral clip only showed Kharge and another individual standing beside the door, while not showing any of the Gandhis, thereby raising our doubts on whether a clipped video was being shared out of context.
We then ran a keyword search for “Priyanka Gandhi nomination Kharge”, which led us to multiple news reports on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filing her nomination for the Lok Sabha by-poll in Kerala’s Wayanad.
“After a mega roadshow in Kalpetta, Priyanka went to the district collectorate and submitted her papers before District Collector and Returning Officer DR Meghashree. She was flanked by brother Rahul and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge even as mother Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary KC Venugopal watched. Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra and son Rehan stayed outside the collector’s chamber,” read an Indian Express report, dated October 23, 2024.
We came across this Hindustan Times report, dated October 24, 2024, on the BJP criticising Congress for allegedly disrespecting leader Kharge during Priyanka’s nomination filing and questioning the treatment of Dalits. According to the report, pictures of the nomination filing process, however, showed Kharge seated along Senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. A similar Deccan Herald report, dated October 24, 2024, reiterated that in the photos shared of the nomination filing, the Congress President could be seen sitting right next to Priyanka Gandhi, sharing a photo, too, credited to the PTI.
The official X account of the Congress on October 23, 2024, shared a video of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filing her nomination to the Wayanad Parliamentary by-election in Kalpetta, where you can clearly see Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The party’s Facebook account also uploaded the video.
Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi shared pictures of the occasion on their X accounts, further contradicting the viral claim that the Congress president was shunted out of the room during the filing of nomination.
The Congress on October 24, 2024, called out the viral video on X, terming it “BJP’s fake news tactics”, while debunking the claim.
We also came across this India Today report, dated October 24, 2024, detailing what happened during Priyanka’s nomination filing process on Wednesday, as per the account of their reporter who was present at the time.
“Priyanka Gandhi, who is contesting the Wayanad by-polls after the seat was vacated by her brother Rahul Gandhi, was scheduled to arrive at the district collector’s office in Kalpetta to file her nomination at 1pm after a rally. However, as she was running behind schedule, Priyanka left the rally midway while Kharge was speaking. She arrived at the collector’s office at 1.24pm with her husband, Robert Vadra, and her son… After Priyanka reached the office, she told the returning officer (RO) that the Congress president, her mother, and brother were held back in a meeting and would arrive soon. She said her husband and son would go out when they arrived,” read the report, adding that the returning officer said they [Congress president, her mother, and brother] could come in during the submission of the second set of nomination papers. Priyanka submitted her first set at 1.25pm.
According to the report, Sonia Gandhi later arrived at the collector’s office, after which Kharge and Congress MP KC Venugopal, too, arrived at the venue, however, they were not allowed to enter by the guard at the collector’s office as the returning officer was scrutinising the papers.
“After the procedure was completed, Robert Vadra and his son went out and Kharge entered the collector’s office during the submission of the second set of nomination papers. In fact, Rahul Gandhi was also made to wait outside till the scrutiny of the first set of nomination papers was completed. He was then called inside. However, only the part where Kharge was seen waiting outside the collector’s office went viral and was used by the BJP to attack the Congress,” further read the report.
UPDATE ON 24/10/2024
Rules Regarding Scrutiny Of Nominations
We went to the official website of the chief electoral officer, Kerala, where we looked up the ECI’s 2023 Handbook for Returning Officer and found section 5.8 on page 45, headlined, “Restrictions on number of vehicles and people at the time of nomination.”
“The maximum number of vehicles in the convoy of a candidate or accompanying him to be allowed to come within a periphery of 100 meters of Returning Officer’s or the Assistant Returning Officer’s Office has been restricted to three, and the persons who can be allowed to enter the Office of Returning Officer or the Assistant Returning Officer at the time of filing nomination has been limited to five (including the candidate). The periphery of 100 meters should be clearly demarcated. It is also to be ensured that only one door shall be kept open for entry of candidate plus four other authorized persons and all other doors should be closed. A CCTV camera should be placed at the entry door to record actual time of entry,” read the handbook, further confirming that only a limited number of individuals were allowed inside the room at the time of filing the nomination.
Conclusion
Viral claim that Mallikarjun Kharge was shunted out of the room during Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s nomination filing from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat found to be false.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
X post, Congress, October 23, 2024
India Today report, October 24, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
