As the election results were declared in West Bengal, the BJP crossed the halfway mark, maintaining a substantial lead over the incumbent Trinamool. The vote share of the CPI(M), a party that once ruled West Bengal, fell further even as it secured one seat in the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
In this context, a video of CPIM party members singing a devotional song went viral on social media. The video shows a stage decorated with the CPIM party symbol where a singer, along with the musicians, is singing “Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.” The users who share the video claim that CPI(M) members are singing Ram Bhajan in West Bengal after elections.
Let’s check the truth
Fact check:
We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to an X post by @honubroto uploaded on 19 November 2024. It contained a video showing similar scenes to those seen in the viral video, but the audio was different. In this video, the singer can be heard singing the Hindi song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal” from the movie Khandan.
Moving forward, we found the same video was uploaded on an Instagram post on 17 November 2024. There also, the singer could be heard singing the Hindi song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal.” The Instagram user, Paritosh Pattanayak, is a CPIM party member.
The caption states, “A road show was organized at Tekhali Bazar, Block No. 1, Nandigram, on the initiative of CPI(M) against the rampant violence against women in the country and the state.”
We found the same video on the Facebook page of Paritosh Pattanayak with the same caption on 14 November 2024. This Facebook post contained some other photos along with the video. In this video too, the singer could be heard singing the Hindi song “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal,” not the “Ram Bhajan.”
This makes it clear that the viral video has been edited. The singer was not singing Ram Bhajan in the viral video. In the original video, the singer was singing a Hindi song, “Neel Gagan Par Udte Badal”.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found that the viral video has been altered. In the original video CPI(M) members were singing a Hindi song from the film Khandan, not a Ram bhajan.
Title: Edited video goes viral as CPI(M) members singing Ram Bhajan in West Bengal after election
Fact Check By: Usha Manoj
Result: Altered
