Old video shows Indian politician Navneet Rana crying in hospital, not after losing seat

"Arrogance turned to tears in Amravati," read a Facebook post that shared the video on June 5, referring to Rana's seat in Maharashtra that she lost in just-concluded elections.

The BJP was forced into a coalition government after a setback in the polls left the party without an outright majority for the first time in a decade (archived link). 

The main opposition Congress party won 99 seats in a remarkable turnaround, almost doubling its 2019 tally.

"Navneet Rana, who talked about sending Indian Muslims to Pakistan, was sent packing by the public," the Facebook post added. "See her situation after defeat."

The post appeared to refer to comments Rana made at an election rally in May that those who did not want to say a Hindu slogan should "go to Pakistan" (archived link).

Days later, a case was registered against her for a controversial remark she made at another rally (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 6, 2024

The video was shared in similar posts on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, here and here. 

Hospital video

A reverse image search on Google found the video posted on X on May 5, 2022 by Indian media outlet News18 (archived link). 

"Arrested Maharashtra MP Navneet Rana Broke Down As She Met Her Husband In The Hospital," reads text overlaid on the video.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the News 18 video (right):  

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Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and News 18 video (right)

In April 2022, Mumbai police arrested Rana and her husband, also a politician, following their call to recite a Hindu hymn outside a politician's residence (archived link).

Rana was later taken to hospital after she fell ill while in jail.

The video was widely shared by Indian news outlets at the time here, here and here (archived links here, here and here). 

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