BJP leader K Annamalai recently figured prominently in Maharashtra politics following the BJP-led Mahayuti’s strong performance in civic elections, particularly in Mumbai. Although primarily a Tamil Nadu BJP leader, Annamalai’s remarks on Maharashtra politics and Mumbai’s identity sparked sharp reactions from regional leaders, including Raj Thackeray, leading to a public war of words and the viral ‘rasmalai‘ jibe controversy, during the election campaign.
Responding to criticism, Annamalai asserted that the election results reflected voters’ rejection of divisive and regionalist politics, framing the BJP’s gains as an endorsement of development-focused governance. His comments and counter-attacks kept him at the center of post-poll political discourse in Maharashtra, drawing national attention to the controversy.
After the election results however, a video has surfaced online, which features the BJP leader dancing. It is being claimed that Annamalai celebrated and danced after the party’s victory in the BMC and Maharashtra polls, mocking the Thackeray borthers. During the investigation we found that claim to be misleading and the viral video was found to be old and not recent.
Claim:
X user Sanatani Thakur shared the viral video on his profile.
Other users are also sharing the same video with similar claims on social media platforms.
Investigation:
We started the investigation by running a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the video, excluding the text over the same.
We combined it with Google keyword search, and found a video from 2023, on Facebook profile of Galatta Media.
The caption said (translation): We had never seen Annamalai dance before—now look at it!
We found video of the same on YouTube.
A longer version of the video was uploaded on Nation First over two years ago.
The desription said: Annamalai dancing during the foot march | BJP Annamalai Dance Video | En Mann En Makkal
Conclusion: The video featuring BJP leader K Annamalai dancing in celebration of the BJP’s victory in the BMC elections is an old video from 2023 from a foot march led by the leader in Tamil Nadu. The viral claim is misleading.
