Fact Check: Survey Predicts Tally Of 22 For SP-Congress In Uttar Pradesh? Viral Screenshot Is Doctored
Actual bulletin, dating back to February, shows survey predicted seven of UP’s 80 seats for Samajwadi Party and one for the Congress.
The Verdict: False
The screenshot is edited. The survey actually predicts seven seats for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and one for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
What is the claim?
A supposed screenshot of an India Today bulletin showing results of the ‘Mood of the nation’ survey predicting 17 seats for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and five seats for the Indian National Congress (INC) in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the ongoing general elections has been shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Sharing the screenshot, a user on X (archive here) wrote, “इंडिया टुडे ने उत्तर प्रदेश के अपने सर्वे में ~ सपा को 17 सीट दी है ~ कांग्रेस को 5 सीट दी है बस देखते जाओ ये तो बस शुरुआत है, सपा 30 से अधिक सीटें अकेले जीतेगी” (Translation: In its survey India Today has predicted 17 seats for SP and five seats for the Congress. Just wait and see this is the start, SP will get more than 30 seats).
Anand Prakash, a member of the OBC commission of Delhi government, also shared this post. Archive of the posts can be accessed here.
However, we found that this is an edited screenshot. The actual bulletin shows the survey predicted seven, of the 80 seats, for SP and one for the Congress. The two parties are in an alliance for the polls.
What is the truth?
We found the original video (archive here) on India Today’s YouTube channel titled “Rajdeep Sardesai & Rahul Kanwal LIVE | Mood Of The Nation LIVE | India Today’s National Survey LIVE” live streamed on February 8, 2024.
Nearly three hours and 19 minutes into the video, the same screen is visible but the seat share projection is different from the one seen in the viral screenshot.
One can see that the projected seat share is as follows:
BJP: 70
Apna Dal: 2
Congress: 1
SP: 7
BSP: 0
Others: 0
A report by India Today published on the same date also shows that the survey predicts eight seats for SP and Congress combined. The survey was conducted by C-Voter between December 15, 2023 and January 28, 2024.
The verdict
Clearly, an edited screenshot is being shared to claim that a survey has predicted 22 seats for the SP and Congress combined.
This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.