By Srijit Das
A video of Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai struggling to hold back tears during a speech is being shared online with a misleading claim that it shows him crying after losing in the Coimbatore constituency and witnessing the party's poor results in the southern state.
BOOM found that the video is unrelated to the Lok Sabha results announced on June 4, 2024. The footage is from April 2024, when Annamalai became emotional during a speech at an old age home.
The 33-second clip is going viral following the BJP's failure to win a single Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu and amid criticism of K Annamalai for the party's poor performance in the state.
A verified X user posted the video and wrote, "He worked 24x7 for 3 years. He reached to every part of Tamil Nadu. BJP vote share is now 19% in Tamil Nadu & when he took charge it was just 8%. Tears in his eyes means a lot. But he will come back. Annamalai is the future of Tamil Nadu. I love him & will always support him."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a related keyword search on X and found the same footage was uploaded on News 18 Tamil Nadu's official YouTube channel on April 17, 2024.
We also found that the same event was streamed live on April 17, 2024, on the official YouTube channel of Tamil Nadu-based media outlet Polimer News.
We then ran a keyword search in Tamil and found a news article by the Tamil outlet Dinamalar from April 17, 2024, reporting about the incident.
The report stated that the incident occurred during a programme at an old age home in Kasturi Naickenpalayam, Coimbatore, where Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai participated. It further mentioned that Annamalai became emotional while speaking to elderly people there, expressing his long-standing desire to visit the place but hindered by his busy schedule.
Annamalai was quoted as saying, "For the past one year, I have been trying to sit and talk to the elders here in the evening. But there was no time for that. Today is the last day to campaign. So I thought I should meet you and talk to you. I am fortunate enough to do that."
Also Read:Video Of Man Criticising Hindus in Ayodhya for BJP’s Defeat Is Not Muslim
