Fact Check: PM Modi’s Social Media Post Altered to Falsely Tout ‘Record Votes’ for INDIA Bloc in 1st Phase

The Verdict Fake

Narendra Modi’s X post after the first round of voting was fake. He said that a record number of people voted for the NDA and not the INDIA group.

What Is The Claim?

A post on social media said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a “record number” of people voted for the “INDIA Alliance” after the first round of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were over.

The post has a picture of a tweet from Modi’s X (formerly Twitter) account that says, “First phase, great reaction! Thanks to everyone who voted today. Getting GREAT comments from the vote today. It’s clear that a huge number of people in India are choosing for INDIA.

The post went popular after being shared by an account called “India With Congress.” The caption says, “Modiji got the exit poll numbers, which show that across the country, a record number of people voted against the NDA.” If the NDA wins, it will be a tough race. This link will take you to an old copy of the post.

The claim is false, though. Someone shared a fake screenshot that said PM Modi said that a high number of people voted for the INDIA bloc. This is not true. He really said that people had voted for the NDA.

How Did We Find The Source?

First, we looked at PM Modi’s X account to see if he had made any posts like that. He shared a post at 9:33 p.m. on April 19, which was after the first round of voting was over. He wrote, “Well done on the first phase!” Thanks to everyone who voted today. Getting GREAT comments from the vote today. It’s clear that a huge number of people in India are voting for the NDA.

When we compared the post that went viral to the one that Modi made, we saw that the word “NDA” had been changed to “INDIA” to make a fake screenshot. The Prime Minister actually said that a record number of people voted for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is run by the BJP, not the INDIA bloc.

On April 19, the first round of voting took place in 102 districts in 21 states and Union territories. Reports say that 62% of eligible voters turned out until 9 pm. The average number of people who voted in these 102 districts in 2019 was 70%, which shows a big drop in voter turnout. However, the Election Commission of India said that the numbers will probably go up when the official results come out.

The verdict

Someone made up a screenshot that says Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a high number of people voted for the opposition INDIA bloc in the first round of voting. This is not true. He actually said that people voted for the NDA, not INDIA. So, we’ve marked this claim as not true.