Clipped video shared as BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut 'admitting' people will not vote for her

By: Ankita Kulkarni
May 8 2024

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Screenshots of viral posts on social media. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

A video featuring Indian actor and politician Kangana Ranaut speaking at a public gathering is being shared on social media platforms, claiming she has already accepted defeat in the ongoing general elections. Ranaut is contesting as Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh, which is scheduled to vote on June 1. 

In the video, Ranaut says in Hindi, "This crowd that gathers to see Kangana, will not vote for her. They only come to see what kind of an object she is and what a beautiful fairy has come from Mumbai. They come only to see this object. But I am not an object (translated)." 

Multiple posts used the caption "Kangana accepts defeat...said this crowd that comes to see me will not vote for me" while sharing the clip. Archived versions of such posts can be viewed here, here, and here.

Screenshots of viral social media posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts) 

However, we found Kangana's video has been clipped and shared with a misleading narrative. 

Here are the facts

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the viral clip led us to a report published by ETV Bharath Himachal Pradesh on May 2. The report included an extended version of the viral clip, where Ranaut talks about Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, who is contesting against her from Mandhi, and his mother, veteran Congress leader Pratibha Singh. 

In the original video, she says in Hindi, "I do not want to talk much about the Congress because I feel they are losing anyway, and no more attention should be given to them. But one thing has hurt me because the Prince (Vikramaditya Singh) — I have seen him — he did not behave well with his wife. So, they don't know how to respect women. His wife says that she was duped in every possible manner. Anyway, it is their matter...(translated)." 

She continues, "But his mother, Pratibha Ji, whom I consider as my mother, she said that the crowd that gathers to see Kangana will not vote for her. They only come to see what kind of an object she is and what a beautiful fairy has come from Mumbai. They come only to see this object. But I am not an object." This portion of her speech, which runs between the 0:45 and 1:03 timestamps in the video embedded in the ETV report, has been clipped and circulated with a misleading narrative. 

Ranaut, who was addressing an election rally in Karsog town in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, added, "I am a girl. I am also made with flesh and blood, as your sisters are. I have also played in the same streets of Himachal as these girls play here. My sisters don't come to see me as an object. My sisters come to see their sister. And my brothers do not come to see any object; they come to see their Himachal's daughter."

We also found a video with visuals similar to the viral clip posted by the news outlet Punjab Kesari. Here, too, we can observe that Kangana quoted Pratibha Singh and responded to the latter's remarks. A report by Dainik Jagran also corroborated these details.

The Himachal-born actor's statements were apparently in response to Pratibha Singh's comments made during an election campaign on May 1, where Singh stated that people gather at Ranaut's rallies only to see her due to "attraction, but that this crowd cannot be converted into a vote bank."

The verdict

A video of Kangana Ranaut quoting and responding to Himachal Pradesh Congress President Pratibha Singh's statement has been selectively clipped to claim that the actor accepted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.