Indian politician Mayawati criticised BJP in speech misleadingly shared as 'endorsement'

A speech by Indian opposition party leader Mayawati has been misleadingly edited to make it appear as if she was endorsing the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The clip was shared in the middle of a general election set to conclude in June that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP is expected to easily win. Video of the full speech in fact showed that Mayawati had been telling supporters they do not owe the ruling party their votes.

"Now even Mayawati has appealed to vote for the BJP," read part of the Hindi-language Facebook post shared on May 5, 2024.

Mayawati, the head of the opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), is known as the "Dalit Queen" for her championing of India's lower castes and has  been the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state four times.

A 15-second video attached to the post, which is also overlaid with text that says Mayawati appealed for people to vote for the ruling party, appears to show her  saying: "Narendra Modi has given you free rations, so you have to repay him by voting for the BJP in this election."

The same video was shared with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook here and here, and also on social media platform X here.

It circulated in the middle of India’s six-week general election to elect the Lok Sabha -- the lower house of parliament. Voting is due to conclude in June.

Analysts have long expected Modi's BJP to win against a fractious alliance of several regional and national parties.

While Mayawati's BSP is not a part of the alliance, she did not tell supporters to back the BJP (archived link).

Her speech was misleadingly edited.

Context clipped

A keyword search on YouTube found Mayawati's full speech was livestreamed on the BSP's official channel on May 4, 2024 (archived link).

The video is titled, "Mayawati | Rally in Agra, Uttar Pradesh | Lok Sabha Election 2024".

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip used in the misleading posts (left) and the BSP video (right):

The 15-second clip used in the misleading posts corresponds to a section that begins at the 25:41 mark of the BSP video.

Mayawati says: "I would like to say that the BJP government has given free food items to the poor people.

"Now to mislead the people during the election, BJP and RSS cadres are roaming from village to village telling people that Narendra Modi has given you free ration, hence you have to repay his debt by voting for BJP in this election."

The BSP leader is referring to a scheme to give poor people free food that the Indian government started during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (archived link).

The scheme gives five kilogrammes (11 pounds) of grain to poor people each month.

The national government decided to extend the scheme for a further five years from January 2024, which it said would benefit 813 million people (archived link).

At the BSP video's 26:35 mark, Mayawati says, "But I want to tell all our poor people that the little ration that the BJP government has provided has not been given from the BJP's pocket.

"Narendra Modi hasn't given it from his pocket, it is being provided with taxpayers' money."

Nowhere in her speech does Mayawati tell people to vote for the BJP.

Reports in the Deccan Herald and The Print also say she told people not to "feel obliged" to vote for the BJP (archived links here and here).

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the election in India here.