Fact Check: Allu Arjun’s Alleged Congress Campaign in Lok Sabha Actually Takes Place in New York

Is the famous Telugu actor Allu Arjun running for the Congress party in the Lok Sabha polls that are going on right now? A video of him making this claim is being shared a lot on social media. Arjun can be seen standing on a car and waving his hand at the crowd in the video that went viral. He is wearing a sash that says “Grand Marshal” on it.

“Allu Arjun, the biggest star in India, is campaigning for the Congress party,” one post with the video said. From its past, you can see this.

The video is from Asia Day in New York in 2022. There has been no campaigning for the Congress party by Allu Arjun.

Our Probe

We couldn’t find any news about Allu Arjun running for the Congress party. Following a reverse image search of the video’s screenshots lead us to the same clip on YouTube, which was posted on August 25, 2022, to the “DesiNewYorker” channel. At 7:29 minutes, you can see a part of the video that went popular.

The video’s title says that it was filmed in New York City in 2022 during the India Day Parade. A WION story from August 22, 2022, says that Allu Arjun was the “Grand Marshal” for India at the 40th India Parade in New York City on August 21, 2022. Arjun and his wife Sneha Reddy went to this event.

They also put up a movie on YouTube on August 22, 2022, by the “New York Street” channel that showed the whole parade. You can see Arjun in the same clothes and on the same car in it.

It was a pleasure meeting the Mayor of New York City . Very Sportive Gentleman. Thank You for the Honours Mr. Eric Adams . Thaggede Le ! @ericadamsfornyc @NYCMayorsOffice pic.twitter.com/LdMsGy4IE0

— Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) August 22, 2022

So, the video that went popular has nothing to do with the Lok Sabha elections.

Allu Arjun and Politics

Arjun is connected in politics. In 2019, his uncle, actor Pawan Kalyan, started the Janasena Party. In 2019, Arjun worked to win Kalyan to the Lok Sabha in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh. Ashekhar Reddy, Arjun’s father-in-law, left the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to join the Congress party in February of this year.

Reddy has said more than once that Arjun would run for office for him if he had to. So far, Arjun hasn’t said anything about this. Not yet, Reddy has not been given a seat for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

That being said, it is clear that the video going popular does not show Allu Arjun running for Congress.