Old Image of Bhupendra Hooda With Kumari Shelja Shared as Recent Amid Polls

This image is old from 2019 and not recent, as claimed.

Fact-Check: This image is from 2019 and not recent.

(Source: The Quint) 

Amid polls, a picture of former Chief Minister of Haryana and Indian National Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, with Member of Parliament (MP) from Congress Selja Kumari is being shared as a recent image.

Users claim that the picture shows a recent meeting of the two leaders and indicates that there is no division in the Haryana Congress.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

This post recorded 45,000 views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

Is this true?: This image dates back to 2019. Hooda uploaded this on his official X handle on the occasion of Kumari's birthday.

What we found: We ran a Google reverse image search on the image and found the same image on Hooda's X page. It was uploaded on 24 September 2019 on the occasion of Kumari's birthday.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

Some context: Amid Kumari's absence from the rallies during the election campaigning, former Haryana CM and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manohar Lal Khattar offered her to join the BJP, which she turned down, reported India Today.

• According to a report by The Print, it noted Kumari's dissatisfaction with the ticket distribution for her camp. On the last date of the ticket distribution, a Congress worker made a casteist remark directed at Kumari which deeply angered the Dalit community in the state.

• During the release of the party's manifesto for the polls in Delhi, Kumari did not attend the ceremony.

• Dismissing all rumours, she said, "Congress runs through my veins, just as my father passed away wrapped in the Tricolour. I, too, will go wrapped in that same Tricolour one day," as reported by India Today.

• When questioned about her absence in the campaign, she mentioned that she would start campaigning for the party shortly.

Conclusion: An old image is being shared to falsely claim that Hooda and Kumari met recently amid campaigning for the assembly elections.

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