What is the claim? A one-minute, 52-second video montage showing a woman drawing water from a pond, practicing yoga, and wielding a sword and a stick is being shared, with the claim that it is an old video of newly sworn-in Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. An X user posted the video with a caption in Hindi that translates to: “Old video of RSS worker Rekha Gupta, who is now the Chief Minister of Delhi. Did you get chills? Kejriwal, run as far as you can…” The post has garnered more than 127,000 views and over 3,700 likes, with many users praising the woman in the video. Archives of similar posts can be found here, here, here, and here. Similar claims have circulated widely on Facebook as well. Archived versions of these posts can be found here and here. Screenshots of the viral posts online (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)Gupta was sworn in as Delhi’s chief minister on February 20, 2025, after the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Delhi Assembly elections held on February 5, 2025. However, we found that the woman in the video is not Gupta but Marathi actor Payal Jadhav. What are the facts? A reverse image search of keyframes from the video led to an Instagram post by Marathi actor Payal Jadhav, uploaded on February 19, 2025. An archived version of the post can be found here. The video’s caption, written in Marathi, translates to: “Salutations to the great accomplishments of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This is my small effort, inspired by the great king, an expert in warfare and weaponry, a valiant warrior also known as Praudhapratap Purandar.” Jadhav posted the video on February 19 to mark Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti, a public holiday in Maharashtra that celebrates the birth anniversary of the Maratha king. Jadhav made her debut in Marathi films with the 2023 movie Baaplyok and is also known for her work in Marathi television series. A comparison of Gupta’s photos—including a 1996 image of her being sworn in as Delhi University Students’ Union president—confirms that the woman in the video does not resemble her. A comparison of the woman in the viral video with Rekha Gupta (Source: X/rekhagupta.in)According to her personal website, Gupta began her political career in 1992 when she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student at Daulat Ram College, Delhi University. She was elected Delhi University Students’ Union president in 1996 and has been an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). She won the Shalimar Bagh constituency seat in the 2025 Delhi elections. However, the woman in the viral video is not her. The verdict A video of Marathi actor Payal Jadhav practicing swordsmanship on Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti has been falsely shared as footage of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.(This article was first written by Rajeswari Parasa for Logically Facts, and republished by Deccan Chronicle as part of the Shakti Collective Fact Check initiative).
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