Fight at Congress event shared as tussle between YSRCP leaders in Andhra Pradesh

What is the claim?

A user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a black-and-white video with the claim that it shows members of the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress Party, fighting among themselves over food and alcohol during the Samajika Sadhikara Yatra (Social Empowerment Journey), which is a YSRCP party campaign taken up to talk about the party’s work for social justice.

The 1:42-second video shows a large group of people fighting among themselves in what appears to be a large dining room. The video was shared on November 6, 2023, with the caption, “YSRCP members fighting for food and alcohol during the Samajika Sadhikara Yatra in Kakinada. It is said that liquor was supplied liberally (translated from Telugu).” An archived version of the post can be seen here. 

Screenshot of the post on social media (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this video is from Hyderabad and documents Congress infighting at a recent event ahead of the Assembly elections. 

What did we find?

We closely observed the frames in the video and saw a small image vaguely resembling a hand on one of the scarves worn by a man seen at 1.40-1.42 timestamp. Additionally, a comment to the viral post sharing the video indicated that the incident was from a Congress meeting in Kukatpally, not a YSRCP meeting in Andhra Pradesh. 

Screenshot from the viral video (Source: X)

We then looked for news reports about fighting among Congress workers in Kukatpally and found what appears to be the original version of the now-viral black-and-white video. The video was posted on X by the user ‘Telugu Scribe’ on November 6, 2023. The post's caption is, “Congress activists fought among themselves for meals in Kukatpally.”

We also found news reports about the incident by local news channels ETV Bharat Telugu and T News. ETV Bharat Telugu reported that a Congress candidate for the Kukatpally constituency in Hyderabad was speaking to party members when a fight ensued in the queue for lunch, which later esclalated into a full-blown fight between the members. 

This news report also had the original version of the now-viral video. T News Telugu also published a video of the incident, captured from a different angle, on its YouTube channel on November 6, where the news bulletin anchor can be heard saying: “While a meeting with the Congress members was underway in Kukatpally, a fight ensued between members of two different factions, and it led to a scuffle between them."

A comparison between the viral video and the video report by ETV Bharat of the fight at the Congress event in Kukatpally, Hyderabad (Source: X/YouTube/ETVBharat/Screenshots)

The verdict

A scuffle between Congress members in Hyderabad has been shared as YSRCP members fighting for food and alcohol in Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.