Old Image Showing Muslims Voting Falsely Linked to BMC Polls With Communal Claim

This image is dates back to 2024 and was taken in Varanasi during the Lok Sabha elections.

Fact-Check: This image is from Varanasi and was taken in 2024. 

(Source: The Quint) 

An image of a number of people from the Muslim community standing in a queue to vote in the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections is being shared on social media with a communal undertone.

Posts claimed the photo was taken around 4 pm in Mumbai and alleged that those in the queue voted for the Shiv Sena (UBT)–Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance, contrasting their “awareness” of voting power with Hindus.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as this image is from 2024 and not related to the BMC elections.

• This image is from Varanasi, taken during the last phase of voting during the Lok Sabha elections.

What we found: At first, we ran a reverse image search on the viral visual which led us to a report by the Associated Press from 1 June 2024. It contained the same image as the viral posts.

Here is the preview of the report.

(Source: AP/Screenshot) 

• We then looked for the image on AP Photos, which noted that it showed Muslims standing in queues to cast their votes in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi on 1 June 2024.

Here is the preview of the editorial image.

(Source: AP Photos/Screenshot) 

Conclusion: An old image from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi is being falsely shared as a recent photo from Mumbai, linking it to the BMC elections with a communal claim.

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