CLAIM
A viral image of a billboard on social media apparently congratulated former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on the chances of becoming the prime minister. The billboard reads: ‘प्रधानमंत्री बनने की हार्दिक सम्भावना ,श्री अखिलेश यादव ,शुभ अखिलेश, खुश देश, खुश प्रदेश , निवेदक – सुनील सिंह ‘साजन’ एम.एल.सी, लखनऊ, उन्नाव’)
(Translation: The hearty possibility of becoming the Prime Minister... Shri Akhilesh Yadav, auspicious Akhilesh, happy country, happy state. Advertiser – Sunil Singh ‘Sajan’ MLC, Lucknow, Unnao.)
A Facebook page named ‘PMO India: Report Card’ shared the viral billboard and received an engagement of 8,600 likes and over 2,500 shares.
Nitsula Hebbar, journalist with The Hindu, also shared the viral billboard on Twitter.
Several other users also shared the image on Facebook and Twitter.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim about the billboard is false. The text has been altered.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We searched for the viral billboard on Facebook using keywords ‘अखिलेश यादव,’ and ‘सम्भावना.’ This led us to several posts that were shared in January 2019 and December 2018.
All the elements in the viral billboard and the billboard that was shared earlier are same except the text. The text has been edited from ‘नव वर्ष की हार्दिक’ to ‘प्रधान मंत्री बनने की हार्दिक.’ Also, a grammatical error can be seen on the hoarding. It should have been ‘शुभकामनाएं’ (best wishes) and not ‘सम्भावना’ (expectation).
Further, on the green band at the bottom of the billboard, Samajwadi Party’s Sunil Singh ‘Sajan,’ MLC, Lucknow can be clearly seen. He took to Twitter and denied the claims being made about the viral billboard. He wrote, ‘जनता से दुत्कारे जाने के बाद #ईवीएम हथियाने के जुगाड़ पर लगी #भाजपा की आईटी (इंटरनेट टेररिस्ट) सेल नीचता पर उतर आई है। मेरी पुरानी होर्डिंग में छेड़छाड़ कर अफ़वाह फैला रहे हैं। इन घटिया हरकतों से समाजिक न्याय की लड़ाई कमजोर नही और मजबूत होगी।’’
(Translation: After being shunned by the public, BJP's IT (Internet Terrorist) cell which is trying to capture EVMs has reached a new low . After tampering with my old hoarding, they are spreading rumors. Such poor actions will not weaken the fight for social justice, but strengthen it.)
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