A set of photos showing Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav taking a dip in a water body are being shared on social media, where users are claiming that they show him at the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
Is it true?: No, the claim is false.
The photos show Yadav taking a dip in the Ganga in Haridwar to mark the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
How did we find out the truth?: We ran a reverse image search on one of the photos using Google, which led us to an X (formerly Twitter) post shared by Zee News.
It showed the same images and mentioned that it showed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav taking a dip in the Ganga river on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and had shared pictures of the same.
Taking a cue from this, we looked for the same visuals on Yadav's social media accounts and found these photos on his X account.
He had shared them a day prior on 14 January with a caption in Hindi which loosely translates to, "Took Maa Ganga's blessings on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti."
As on 19 January, there are no visuals or news reports about Yadav attending the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela.
Conclusion: A set of photos was shared with the false claim that SP leader Akhilesh Yadav attended the Kumbh Mela.
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