2013 video of PM Narendra Modi used to falsely claim he expressed support for INDIA bloc

India is gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, scheduled to take place between April and May 2024. As political parties and leaders, including the reigning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), prepare for the polls, 26 national and regional parties came together in July to form the opposition front Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, commonly known by the abbreviation' INDIA.'

What is the claim?

A clip of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a crowd in an open ground is circulating with the claim that it shows him expressing for the INDIA bloc. In the clip, Modi reiterates several times, "Vote for India." 

An X user shared the clip and captioned it: "Modi ji will also vote for India only. I'll vote for I.N.D.I.A. in 2024 !" Another user on Facebook wrote, "Modi Ji Said Vote For *** I.N.D.I.A. *** so all voters don't forget vote for I.N.D.I.A. Alliance 2024 Election." The archive of these posts can be found here and here.

Screenshot of viral posts claiming that PM Modi is asking people to vote for INDIA bloc. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What did we find

Taking a clue from the viral video, which carries the logo of Hindi news channel AajTak on its top right corner and the Hindi text "Modi's Maha Garjana Rally," we came across the original video, which is from 2013. On December 22, 2013, AajTak had published a longer video of around five minutes with the title,"' Vote for India' is the slogan for 2014 elections: Modi." The description of the video read, "Addressing the Maha Garjana rally in Mumbai, B.JP. leader Narendra Modi urges the people of India to vote for the nation and not for any party." Around the 1:50 mark of the AajTak video, we see Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, making the same statements as in the viral clip. 

Screenshot of the video published by AajTak in 2013. (Source: AajTak/Screenshot)

We also found the complete address by Modi on BJP's YouTube channel. Shared in December 2013, the video of the address is over 52 minutes long. Modi's statement from the viral clip can be heard around the 49:45 mark in this video. However, the viral clip is cropped and leaves out the context of Modi's complete statement, which starts around the 49:41 mark. Addressing the crowd, Modi stresses in Hindi, "...Do not vote not for any party, vote for the country." Thereafter, Modi says and makes the audience repeat after him, "Vote for India," as seen in the viral clip.

Screenshot of the video shared by BJP in 2013. (Source: Website/Screenshot)

The same can be confirmed from the video transcript available on the website 'narendramodi.in', a BJP-run website dedicated to Modi and the events he attends. The transcript read, "Country is larger than the party, so we want to give a mantra, want to make the voice raised from Mumbai reach out to India, that in 2014 elections, do not vote for parties, but for the nation..! Vote for India..! Friends, I will speak, and then you say after me - Vote for India..!"

Therefore, it is clear that Modi was asking the audience to vote for the country India and not the opposition bloc INDIA, which did not even exist in 2013, contrary to claims on social media.

The verdict

An old video of Modi addressing the public in Mumbai in 2013 in the presence of then BJP President Rajnath Singh, along with other senior BJP Leaders, urging people to vote for the country and not a party is shared out of context, claiming he is asking people to vote for the INDIA bloc.