In the original video, Arvind Kejriwal shook hands with Rahul Gandhi before greeting any other leader present at the event.

Arvind Kejriwal shook hands with all INDIA bloc leaders at an event but snubbed Rahul Gandhi.

Did Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal greet all INDIA bloc leaders except Rahul Gandhi at a recent public event? Many on social media claimed so, sharing a video, which has now gone viral on social media.

The video shows the former Delhi Chief Minister shaking hands with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, as Rahul Gandhi waits with his hand up on the stage. Rahul Gandhi then shakes hands with AAP’s Raghav Chaddha. Meanwhile, Kejriwal goes ahead to greet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — seemingly skipping Rahul Gandhi altogether.

The viral clip ends with Kejriwal, Chaddha, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann waving their hands from the stage and going ahead to greet Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, sitting further away from Rahul Gandhi.

Hinting at a crisis within the INDIA bloc, one person shared the video on Facebook, writing, “Kejriwal did not shake hands with Rahul Gandhi. It is clear that AAP is not in the mood to give Congress any importance in the Delhi elections.” Its archive can be seen here.

India Today Fact Check found that this video was edited. In the original video from the swearing-in ceremony of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Kejriwal could be seen greeting Rahul Gandhi.

OUR PROBE

At the top right corner of the viral video, the news agency ANI’s logo was visible. With the help of this clue, we found the video shared on the official X account of ANI on November 28. The post stated the video showed Kejriwal arriving at the swearing-in ceremony of Hemant Soren with his wife Sunita Kejriwal, MP Raghav Chaddha, and Bhagwant Mann. The clip was credited to Jharkhand government’s Jhargov TV.

On the official YouTube channel of Jhargov TV, we found the full video of the oath-taking ceremony, streamed live on November 28. In it, at 2 hours 56 minutes, Kejriwal arrives with Raghav Chaddha and goes straight to Rahul Gandhi and shakes his hands. This part has been clipped out of the viral video.

Rahul Gandhi then tried to shake hands with Chaddha, but Kejriwal at the time was standing between them. It is thus, clear that Kejriwal not only shook hands with Gandhi but did so before greeting any other leader present on the stage.

Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand at the Morabadi Ground in Ranchi on November 28, 2024.

Jharkhand governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Soren. Top leaders of the INDIA bloc were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

IS THERE AN AAP-CONGRESS TIFF?

On November 21, the AAP released its first list of 11 candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in February 2025. This list surprised many who were rooting for Congress and the AAP to fight the elections together.

Congress’ Delhi unit chief Devender Yadav attacked the AAP multiple times, with his most recent statement being that the people of Delhi were fed up with the AAP government and had lost faith in the party.

However, Gandhi and Kejriwal haven’t shown signs of falling out publicly — at least at the time of writing this report.

Thus, it’s clear the viral video was edited and does not show Arvind Kejriwal snubbing Rahul Gandhi.