Old Video of Man Alleging Vote Mismatch in Varanasi Falsely Linked to 2024 Polls

ECI took to X to clarify that the claims made in the viral video were misleading.

Fact-Check | The video is being shared on the internet with a misleading claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a man claiming that the total number of voters was less than the total tally counted in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in Varanasi is being linked to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

Gist about the video: The man was heard alleging that around 11 lakh votes were cast in Varanasi constituency, however, the total tally came up to be 12 lakh 87 thousand. He added that this happened in PM Modi's constituency and 373 other constituencies.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The post had garnered over 33,000 views on the platform at the time of writing this report. Archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.

What is the truth?: The video is old and is being falsely linked to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

• Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken to X in April of this year to clarify that the claims about additional votes in Varanasi constituency were false.

What did ECI data show?: As per the ECI website, the total number of votes that were cast during 2024 Varanasi Lok Sabha Elections were 11,30, 143.

• Out of these, around 11,27,081 were EVM votes and around 3,062 were postal votes.

• PM Modi had won the seat with a margin of 1,52,513.

The tally is available on ECI's website.

(Source: ECI/Screenshot)

What about the video?: On going through the ECI's official X handle, we found that the body had replied to the viral video and termed the claims as "misleading & fake."

• It was published on 7 April 2024 and its caption mentioned, "Reality: claim is misleading& fake. Total Electors in VaranasiPC were 18,56,791. Total votes polled & counted in EVM-10,58,744 & postal votes-2085."

Data published on ECI website: These data points were corroborated by the official voters count document released by the election body. It said that the total number of people eligible to vote was 18,56,791.

• Out of these, total EVM votes were 10,58,744 and postal votes were about 2,085.

Total number of people eligible to vote was 18,56,791.

(Source: ECI/Screenshot)

About the person in the video: We noticed that the viral video had a watermark of a name 'Waman meshram'. Following this, Team WebQoof performed a search with the same name and found an X handle.

• Meshram serves as the President of The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF).

The man was identified as Waman Meshram.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

Conclusion: It is clear that a video talking about voting discrepancies in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is being falsely linked to 2024 general elections.

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