Anjana Om Kashyap did not say Opposition Parties Don’t Deserve Space on Aaj Tak Channel…

The results of the elections for the 18th Lok Sabha were declared last Tuesday, and for the first time in 10 years, not a single party has been able to achieve an absolute majority in the house. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the single largest party in the lower house of Parliament. However, contrary to the exit polls’ predictions, it failed to secure a simple majority on its own.

Almost every exit poll had wrongly predicted a landslide victory for the BJP. One such exit poll was the India Today-Axis My India exit poll. Axis My India had predicted that the BJP would win more than 350 seats and lead the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to win more than 400 seats. This prediction was aired on Aaj Tak and India Today channels after the conclusion of the final phase of polls on 1 June 2024.

A video clip of this program is going viral on social media. In the video clip, the anchor of Aaj Tak, Anjana Om Kashyap, can be heard saying, ‘We should not worry about them; let them worry about themselves. We should not give them so much space that we have to discuss them on a channel like Aaj Tak.

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However, when we investigated the video, we found that the video has been shared out of context and Anjana Om Kashyap is not talking about the opposition parties. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check

We did a keyword search on YouTube using relevant keywords related to the video clip. We found the video of the Exit Poll program conducted by Aaj Tak. The video of the entire program was uploaded on Aaj Tak’s  YouTube channel. You can check from 2:51:25 onwards Aaj Tak Anchor Sudhir Chaudhary says, “The atmosphere that was created on social media – the atmosphere of views –Congress party used to show the views received on the videos of Rahul Gandhi and compare it with  the videos of Prime Minister Modi’s interview and YouTubers used to compare it with the views on their videos. Thus, they tried to create an atmosphere of anti-PM Modi sentiments, public distress and the constitution has come under danger, our institutions are under danger, all big political leaders have been jailed and because of this people are angry. The economy, unemployment and all these issues-our freedom is under danger, the democracy is under danger and this could be our last elections if PM Modi is voted back to power. Now, what will these people (YouTubers) do?”

At 2:52:09 Anjana giggles and replies, “We should not worry about them(YouTubers), let them worry about themselves. We should not give them so much space that we have to discuss them in a channel like Aaj Tak.” Thus, it is clear that Anjana is referring to the YouTubers who said that people on the ground are angry with PM Modi and his government and the constitution could be in danger. You can watch the complete video below.

Conclusion

From our investigation, it is clear that the viral video clip is being shared out of context. In the Exit Poll program of Aaj Tak aired on 1st June, anchor Anjana Om Kashyap said that there was no need to give space to YouTubers who criticized PM Modi and his government. This portion of the clip is being shared with the claim that Kashyap said there is no need to give space to the opposition parties on their news channel.