The 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly election is scheduled in two phases: November 6 and 11, with vote-counting set for November 14.
Ahead of the Bihar elections, a video of Mallikarjun Kharge, the current Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has gone viral on social media. In the video, he can be heard saying, “If you won’t stay alert, Rahul and Tejaswi will drown you.” (Translated from Hindi)
The video was shared with a caption claiming that, “Rahul ji and Tejaswi will drown you – Kharge saheb said in Vote Adhikar Yatra Bihar.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is edited. In the original video, Kharge is heard speaking against Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by the official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress on September 1. According to the captions, the video was of the time when he was speaking at Bihar’s Gandhi Maidan.
In the video, at around the 1:37-minute mark, he can be heard talking about vote theft. He is heard saying, “Modi ji is trying to win in Bihar by stealing votes. You must be vigilant. If you are not vigilant, Modi ji and Shah will drown you.” Thus, it is clear that he made statements about PM Modi and Shah and not Rahul and Tejashwi Yadav.
We found that the same video was also shared by India Today on September 1, with a caption that reads, “Congress President Millkarjun Khrage addressed a gathering in Bihar, highlighting a 15-day journey that garnered nationwide attention. The speaker alleged that the BJP attempted to obstruct this initiative, but the people of Bihar and the alliance partners successfully completed it. Central to the address were accusations of ‘vote theft,’ with Kharge stating, ‘Modi always has the habit of stealing; they steal votes, they steal money.’ The Congress warned the public to remain vigilant, cautioning that ‘Modi Ji and Shah will drown you’ if they are not alert. Emphasising the historical significance of voting rights, attributed to figures like Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, the speaker urged everyone to protect this fundamental right. The address also referenced ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo’ initiatives and called for collective strength to overcome threats to people's rights, noting the support from alliance partners for these efforts. Concerns were raised about the potential harm to the poor due to certain actions.”
We analysed the video using AI detection tools, but the results were not conclusive.
We also found that the audio and lip movements of Kharge do not sync at many points in the video. We also found no reports of Kharge speaking against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
