Old Video Viral as Statement From Samajwadi Party Candidate in 2022 UP Elections

The video is from 2017 when an independent candidate from Agra South said that he wanted to earn money as an MLA.

The claim states that the independent candidate from the 2017 polls Gopal Chaudhary is fighting the 2022 UP Polls on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh saying that he is contesting elections because "he wants to earn money as an MLA" is being shared on social media with the claim that he is fighting the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket.

However, we found that the viral video was from the previous Assembly elections in UP, held in 2017. The man in the video - Gopal Chaudhary –contested from the Agra South constituency as an independent candidate.

Further, he is not contesting the 2022 UP elections.

CLAIM

The video is shared by a user on Twitter with the caption in Hindi that read, "ये हैं गोपाल चौधरी समाजवादी पार्टी का नेता विधायक का चुनाव लड़ने जा रहा है इसकी जो सोच है वहीं सही मायने में समाजवादी सोच है।"

[Translation: This is Gopal Chaudhary, leader of the Samajwadi Party and he is going to fight the UP elections as an MLA. He truly thinks like a socialist.]

An archive of the tweet can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The video is also shared by retired IPS officer M Nageswara Rao, who was also the former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on 1 February, with the caption, "Most honest election candidate so far."

The video has over 8,000 views at the time of writing this article.

An archive of the tweet can be seen here. 

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Several social media users have shared the video along with similar claims and the archived links can be seen here, here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We noticed The Quint's logo in the video, so we went to YouTube and searched with relevant keywords.

The video was published on 28 January 2017. The man seen in the video is Gopal Chaudhary, an independent candidate who was contesting from the Agra South constituency in UP.

"I have no agenda for the polls. I only have a personal agenda which is to earn money, invest and and fulfill all my desires as an elected Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA)," he had told reporters.

The Quint also published a news copy on 28 January 2017.

Story from 28 January 2017.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The video was also tweeted by news agency ANI on 27 January 2017.

Further, he had lost the 2017 elections to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Yogendra Upadhyaya.

We also checked on the Election Commission of India's (ECI) official website to find out the candidates for the 2022 UP polls and Chaudhary is not contesting elections this time. Agra South constituency goes to polls in the first phase which will be held on 10 February.

Clearly, a video from 2017 is being shared on social media with the claim that Chaudhary is fighting the 2022 UP polls on Samajwadi Party ticket.

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