A photo of Bollywood actor Sonu Sood is being shared on social media with the claim that he has joined the Congress Party ahead of the upcoming 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
However, we found that the claim is false. Sood has clarified on Twitter that he is not affiliated to any political party, and wished his sister Malvika Sood who has joined the Congress.
Speaking to The Quint, Sood said that he has nothing to do with politics and has no political affiliations.
CLAIM
The photo of the actor is being shared along with the claim in Hindi that reads, "सच्चाई व ईमानदारी व मानवता व गांधी जी के रास्ते पर चलना वाला हर इंसान कांग्रेस के साथ खड़ा है, जनसेवक मशहूर एक्टर सोनू सूद कांग्रेस पार्टी में शामिल #SonuSoodWithCongress"
(Translation: Every person who walks in the path of truth, honesty, humanity and follows Gandhi's ideas stands with Congress. Sonu Sood joins Congress party.)
An archive of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND
Using relevant keywords, we looked for news reports, if any, about Sonu Sood joining Congress party.
An article in The Quint, published on 11 January, stated that Malvika, sister of Sonu Sood has joined the Congress. She would be the Congress' candidate from her hometown Moga in the February Punjab Assembly polls.
Screengrab from The Quint.
(Source: The Quint/Screenshot)
Malvika joined the party in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi and Congress' Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, both of whom had posted pictures of the joining on their respective Twitter profiles.
"Welcoming Malvika Sood Sachar, sister of social worker and actor Sonu Sood, into the party-fold," Channi had tweeted on 10 January.
Malvika, after joining the party, quote-tweeting the CM's tweet said that she will work for the upliftment of the people of Punjab and strengthening the party.
Further, we looked up on the official Twitter profile of Sonu Sood to find any such recent announcements by the Bollywood actor.
On 10 January, he had tweeted that his sister Malvika will be joining the Congress Party.
Wishing her the best for political journey, he said in the tweet that his work as an actor and humanitarian will continue, "without any political affiliations or distractions".
We also reached out to Sood for a comment and the actor said that he has no political affiliations.
I have nothing to do with politics. I will keep on doing whatever I am doing now, which are acting and social work and I have to touch many more lives and lots to do. I have no political affiliations with anyone and there are no distractions. I am far, far away from politics.Sonu Sood, Bollywood actor and social worker
Earlier too, ahead of the 2020 Bihar polls, the actor's image was morphed to claim that he had asked people to vote for Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav in the Bihar Assembly polls.
Clearly, Sonu Sood joining the Congress is a false claim shared on social media.
(Note: The copy has been updated to include a response from the actor.)
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