No, man wielding sword in viral video is not Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma

After registering a thumping victory in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, the Bharatiya Janata Party chose Bhajan Lal Sharma as the chief minister, surprising many due to his unexpected candidacy. Since taking office, Sharma has gained significant attention in the news and on social media.

What is the claim?

Recently, a video claiming to show Sharma wielding a sword has been circulating on social media. In the video, a man in white clothes is seen wielding a sword and a shield as spectators cheer him on. One X user shared the video with the caption in Hindi, which roughly translates to, “Our Bhajanlal ji is also no less... 🔹 Swordsman Chief Minister in Madhya Pradesh 🔹 Swordsman Chief Minister in Rajasthan Now the salwar seller is not well (sic).” The post (archived here) had garnered over 20,000 views and more than 1,300 likes. Another similar post (archived here) on Facebook was captioned, “Our Chief Minister Bhajanlal is also no less…”

Screenshots of the viral posts on X and Facebook. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the man in the video is the newly appointed deputy chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (MP) Jagdish Devda, who has been misidentified as Bhajan Lal.

What is the truth?

A reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video revealed that the man in the video is not Bhajan Lal. Several media outlets had published the video in August 2022, identifying the man as the then Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh Jagdish Devda. According to a report published by ABP Live on August 29, 2022, Devda, was seen dancing with a sword at an event organized in Malhargarh, Devda’s assembly constituency. The procession was organized on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Yoga guru and businessman Baba Ramdev, reported Dainik Bhaskar.

Screenshot of the news report by ABP Live. (Source: ABP Live)

The video was also shared on the YouTube channel of Hindi news outlet News Nation— whose logo is visible on the top left corner of the viral clip—on August 29, 2022. The title of the video read, "Video of minister's fencing went viral? Mandsaur Jagdish Devda (tranlsated)." 

Devda had himself shared the video from his X handle on August 29, 2022. Posting the video, he wrote, "At the Baba Ramdev Ji Fair in Malhargarh." Devda had served as the Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh under the Shivraj Singh government from 2020 to 2023. After winning the 2023 state assembly polls, he was appointed deputy chief minister on December 13.

The verdict

An old video of the newly appointed deputy chief minister of Madhya Pradesh showing off his sword-wielding skills has been misattributed to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. The video is from 2022, when Jagdish Devda, the then finance minister of MP, participated in an event in his constituency. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.