Was Mallikarjun Kharge Made To Wait Outside When Priyanka Gandhi Filed Her Nomination Papers? Here’s The Fact Check.

On 23 October Priyanka Gandhi filed her nomination papers for the Wayanad by-poll. Against this backdrop, a video of the Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge went viral on social media where he can be seen waiting outside the door. It has been claimed that Kharge was made to wait outside while Priyanka Gandhi filed the nomination papers. 

Sharing the video on Facebook, a user wrote, “Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior leader and Congress President, was sidelined during Priyanka Vadra’s nomination.

This blatant insult shows the Gandhis’ true mindset towards Dalits.

Congress has always disrespected marginalized communities!

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was made to wait outside because the room was “too full” with Gandhi family members! 

This is how the Gandhi dynasty treats and insults even their own party president—like a mere puppet, while they hold all the power behind closed doors.

Facebook Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated we came to know that the claim is misleading. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check

We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search, and this led us to a tweet by BJP leader Rajiv Chandrashekhar, who shared the video claiming that Mallikarjun Kharge was made to wait outside when Priyanka Gandhi was filing the nomination papers for the Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency by-poll.

In response, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared some photos of Priyanka Gandhi’s nomination submission where Mallikarjun Kharge is seen sitting next to Priyanka Gandhi. 

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Moving forward, we found a detailed report published on India Today on 24 October 2024 about the nomination filing process of Priyanka Gandhi.

The report read, “…However, as she was running behind schedule, Priyanka left the rally midway while Kharge was speaking. She arrived at the collector’s office at 1.24 pm with her husband, Robert Vadra, and her son.

The whole process of nomination filing is videographed, as per Election Commission rules. One proposer is enough for candidates of a recognised national or state party.

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.

However, the returning officer said they could come in during the submission of the second set of nomination papers. Priyanka submitted her first set at 1.25 pm.

Minutes later, Sonia Gandhi arrived at the collector’s office. Soon, Kharge and Congress MP KC Venugopal arrive 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…”

Please read here. Archived Link.

Further, we found the full version of the video of Priyanka Gandhi’s nomination filing on the ANI YouTube channel.

The video initially shows Priyanka Gandhi sitting in front of the officer with her husband, Robert Vadra, and son Raihan Vadra. After a while, Sonia Gandhi came and sat behind them. Then Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge arrived and Robert Vadra and his son left. Mallikarjun Kharge is seen sitting next to Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal were also seen sitting with Priyanka Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi can be seen filing her nomination papers in their presence.

We contacted Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad office to learn more about the incident. Rahul Gandhi’s PS Augustine said, “First Priyanka Gandhi entered the commissioner’s office to file her nomination papers. Robert Vadra and her son Raihan Vadra accompanied her. The law allows only five people to sit there. So leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy took turns entering the office. Initially, Mallikarjun Kharge was out for a while; then he sat beside Priyanka Gandhi. The claim that he was made to stay outside is completely false.”

We checked the Kerala Election Commission’s rules and found that the same, as stated by Augustine, is mentioned in the candidate handbook. According to Rule No. 3.12, a maximum of five persons may be present in the office of the Returning Officer at the time a candidate files nomination papers.

Please read here. Archived Link.

A tweet from the Congress party can be seen below.

This makes it clear that Mallikarjun Kharge was present at the time of Priyanka Gandhi’s nomination filing.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral claim is misleading. Mallikarjun Kharge was not made to wait outside when Priyanka Gandhi filed her nomination papers. Mallikarjun Kharge was sitting next to Priyanka Gandhi when she filed her nomination papers.