Old video shows former Indian state leader crying after daughter's death, unrelated to 2023 election

Published on December 20, 2023 at 09:01
3 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India

A clip has been shared hundreds of times in Indian social media posts that falsely claim it shows the former chief minister of the central Madhya Pradesh state in tears after his Bharatiya Janata Party decided against keeping him in the post -- despite the party winning in local elections. The video in fact shows Shivraj Singh Chauhan crying after the death of his adopted daughter in 2019. Chauhan said on December 12 that the party's decision to nominate a different candidate for the position was acceptable.

"After losing the CM's chair, Shivraj Singh's pain overflowed, and he could not stop himself from crying," reads the Hindi-language caption of a video shared more than 200 times since it was posted here on X on December 11, 2023.

The 14-second video shows Shivraj Singh Chauhan, a senior leader in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former chief minister of India's central Madhya Pradesh state, crying as he is consoled by people around him (archived link).

The post goes on to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, both of the BJP, of "cheating" Chauhan of the position to "establish their supremacy".

The claim circulated as the BJP named Dr Mohan Yadav as the new chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, following the announcement of the party's victory in state elections on December 4 (archived links here and here).

Screenshot of the false post, captured on December 14, 2023

The same video was shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here and here, as well as on X here.

But the video in fact shows Chauhan crying after the death of his adopted daughter in 2019.

2019 video

The video shared in the false posts includes the logo of "News Tak", a regional affiliate of the Indian News channel "Aaj Tak".

Subsequent keyword searches on Google led to a news report titled, "Why did former MP Chief Minister SHIVRAJ SINGH CHAUHAN start crying?", which was uploaded to News Tak's YouTube channel here on July 19, 2019 (archived link).

The video's Hindi-language description reads: "Shivraj Singh Chauhan wept bitterly after the death of his adopted daughter."

The clip shared in the false posts can be seen from the News Tak video's two-second to 16-second mark.

Below are screenshot comparisons of the video in the false posts (left) and the News Tak YouTube video (right):

Screenshot comparisons of the video in the false posts (left) and the News Tak YouTube video (right)

The same video was also published by other local news outlets here and here (archived links here and here).

Chauhan had adopted Bharti Verma from an orphanage and her death was reported by other Indian media outlets here and here (archived links here and here).

Her husband told reporters she was being treated for "body weakness" prior to her death.

On December 12, Chauhan addressed claims he had been "unfairly treated" by the BJP in a press conference, saying the party's decision was acceptable and that he was happy (archived link).

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