Old video circulated as fight between TDP and Jana Sena councillors in Andhra Pradesh

What is the claim?

Indian actor and politician Pawan Kalyan had announced in September that the Jana Sena Party (JSP) would be contesting the 2024 assembly elections in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In this context, a video began circulating on social media where two people can be seen engaging in a brawl while others in the room try to stop them. This video was shared with the claim that a fight broke out between a TDP and JSP leader recently. This video was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) with a caption in Telugu (archived here), which loosely translates to: "TDP party councillor has torn the clothes of a Jana Sena party councillor and beat him. (sic)" Similar claims were shared on other social media platforms, and archived links to such posts can be found here and here.

Screenshots of the claims made online. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video is from 2016 and does not involve any current member of the Jana Sena Party.

What are the facts?

As the video began to do the rounds on social media, some users pointed out in the comments that the video is not recent but from 2016. On searching for reports on fights between political leaders in Andhra Pradesh, we came across a video report by The Indian Express titled "VIDEO: Two TDP councilors' ugly fight at municipal council meeting." The report, shared on February 29, 2016, stated that TDP councilors Gummadi Ramesh and Pasupuleti Trimurthulu had an "altercation over the entries of the minutes book, which one of them alleged were misleading."

In its report, the Indian Express also embedded an X post by news agency ANI, which had published a video with similar visuals from the viral clip. This ANI video was taken from a different angle and was shared on X on February 29, 2016, with the title "WATCH: Clash between 2 councillors of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Tenali municipality of Guntur Distt (Andhra Pradesh)." This video is longer than the viral clip and shows a clearer version of the incident. In the ANI video and the viral clip, we can see two people fighting each other, one in a yellow shirt and one in a white shirt. A maroon-colored curtain in the backdrop and a saree-clad woman standing nearby can also be spotted in both videos. 

A comparison between the viral video and the 2016 news video throws up many similarities. (Source: X/ANI/Screenshots)

The Hindu had also reported on this incident in an article published on March 1, 2016. The report added that "ugly scenes were witnessed at the Municipal Council meeting when then TDP councillors traded blows." At the time, the TDP was the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh. The Hindu also reported that councilor P Trimurthulu's shirt was also torn in the fight.

Logically Facts contacted one of the people seen fighting in the video, the then-councilor Gummadi Ramesh, who donned a yellow shirt. He confirmed that the video is not recent but from 2016, and the incident happened in Tenali, located in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district. "We both belong to the TDP party, and we were councilors. The brawl happened in the heat of the moment," he said, adding that both of them are still in the TDP and have no affiliation with the Jana Sena.

The verdict 

An old video from 2016 is circulating with the claim that members of the newly-allied TDP and Jana Sena Party broke into a fight. Both the councilors seen in the video are from the Telugu Desam Party. Hence, we mark this claim as false.