2019 video of actor Prakash Raj criticizing the Congress party is being shared linking it to the recent Karnataka elections

The viral video is from 2019, when Prakash Raj was contesting as an independent candidate in the Karnataka elections.

Voting for the Karnataka Assembly Elections will be held on Wednesday, 10 May 2023, and the results will be announced on May 13. In this context, a video featuring actor and politician Prakash Raj criticising the Congress party has gone viral linking to the elections. This 13-second film of Prakash Raj, in which he can be heard stating, ‘Don’t waste your time on Congress,’ is being circulated as if it is his warning to Karnataka people ahead of the 2023 elections. 

While sharing one of his videos on social media, many people claimed that actor Prakash Raj has asked people not to waste votes by voting in favor of Congress. The caption of the viral post states, “Big message Came From @prakashraajJi #prakashraj #bjp #KarnatakaAssemblyElection”.

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The same video has gone viral on Facebook also.

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Fact Check- 

A Google search using relevant keywords brought us to the original and longer version of the viral video posted by Prakash Raj via a tweet. In a video shared on 17 April, 2019, Prakash Raj mocks the Congress Party for posting a photograph of him shaking hands with Rizwan and spreading false propaganda that he supports the Congress Party.

Prakash Raj wrote on his post that “Fake news of Congress.. Look at the dirty politics of this party. Shame on Congress.. Complaint has been sent to Election Commission with proof.. To counter dirty politics share it.”

Media outlets like the Deccan Herald and Jagran reported on this at the time.

Prakash Raj contested from the Bangalore central constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, as an independent candidate and ended up only in the third place. P.C. Mohan from BJP won the seat over his nearest rival Rizwan Arshad of the Congress party.

Moreover, Prakash Raj, a bitter critic of the BJP, has predicted a clear mandate for the Congress party in the upcoming elections.

From these evidences, we can understand that the complete version of the viral video shows that Prakash Raj spoke about misinformation being shared using his name and picture in 2019 and so has nothing to do with the Karnataka Assembly elections.

 Conclusion- 

 Fact Crescendo found that the viral video is from 2019, when Prakash Raj was contesting as an independent candidate in the Karnataka elections. It has nothing to do with the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, shared out of context.