Old video of protest against BJP leaders linked to upcoming Haryana elections

What is the claim?

Posts on the social media platforms One post features a Hindi-language caption stating (translated), "Strong protest by the people against Chief Minister Saini in Haryana."

This video is being shared in the context of the upcoming Haryana Assembly election on October 5, 2024, to suggest that there is public anger directed at the incumbent Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini, a member of the BJP. We were also able to find one iteration of the claim on YouTube using Logically Facts® Accelerate , a tool that enables proactive discovery of fact-check-worthy content on platforms.  These posts have garnered over 110,000 views; Archives of such posts can be accessed here, here, here, here, and here.

Posts on (Source: X/Modified by Logical Facts).

However, we found that the video is outdated and unrelated to the upcoming elections.

what is the truth?

While there have been  reports  of recent black flag protests against CM Saini, we could not find this specific video mentioned in any of those reports.

A keyword search revealed a Hindi-language article by Dainik Jagran, last updated on October 15, 2020, titled "translation: BJP tractor rally shown black flags by BKU; one farmer dies during the protest)." 

The Bharatiya Kisan Union, a farmers' representative organization in India, conducted large-scale protests against the BJP in opposition to controversial farm laws passed in 2020, which were later repealed by the central government. The report states that the rally was led by Ambala Member of Parliament Rattan Lal Kataria, then Kurukshetra MP, and current Chief Minister Nayab Saini, along with Ambala BJP chief Rajesh Batoura. It traveled from Naraingarh to Shahzadpur.

We also located a report on  YouTube  (archived  here  ) by the newspaper The Tribune, uploaded on October 12, 2020, featuring the same tractor rally and protest. The video, titled "Farmers block BJP's rally in Ambala, show black flags," explained that three BJP leaders faced protests from farmers in Naraingarh against the three farm laws. "The BJP commenced the rally with 150 tractors from Saini Dharmashala in Naraingarh. A few kilometers down the road, farmers led by BKU (Charuni) district chief Malkeet Singh blocked the way near Milan Palace. After brief discussions with BJP leaders, farmers cleared the way an hour later on one condition: black flags should be fixed on tractors," the description stated.

We compared frames from The Tribune's video with the viral video on

A comparison of the viral video and the video by The Tribune. (Source: X/YouTube/Modified by Logical Facts).

We also uncovered a  report  by The Times of India from October 16, 2020, titled "Ambala: 300 farmers, who stopped BJP rally, booked for road blockade, rioting." This report featured a photograph of the same tractor with the same individuals seated on it, further confirming that the incident took place in 2020.

A comparison of the viral video and the image by TOI. (Source: X/YouTube/Modified by Logical Facts).

At the time of the protest, BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar was serving as Haryana's chief minister.

For the upcoming elections, the BJP and Congress are the primary contenders for the 90-seat Haryana Assembly, with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) also in the race. Saini leads the BJP, while Hooda is heading the Congress campaign. Votes will be counted, and results will be declared on October 8, 2024.

the verdict

Although the video shows farmers protesting against Nayab Singh Saini, it originates from 2020 and is unrelated to the upcoming Haryana elections. Furthermore, the protest was directed not solely at Saini but also at several BJP leaders.