A 2018 incident of a BJP leader being garlanded with shoes falsely linked to the 2026 Assembly elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the schedule for the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Polling will be held in April 2026, and campaigning by all political parties is underway. In this context, a video is being shared on social media claiming that a BJP MLA candidate was welcomed with a garland of shoes during an election campaign, allegedly due to public outrage over new UGC guidelines. Let’s verify the claim.

The video in question is being circulated with the implication that it is related to the 2026 Assembly elections and the recent UGC guidelines. However, upon investigation, it becomes clear that the incident depicted in the video is unrelated to both. The video actually dates back to 2018 and is connected to a different political context.

The incident took place in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, when BJP leader Dinesh Sharma was campaigning for a local body election in Dhamnod. During his campaign, he was made to wear a garland of shoes as part of a protest over the water scarcity issue. The video is unrelated to the 2026 Assembly elections or the new UGC guidelines.

A reverse image search of key frames from the viral video led to an X post by Asian News International (ANI), dated 7 January 2018, which featured a screenshot of the same footage. The post stated that candidate Dinesh Sharma was made to wear a garland of shoes while campaigning door-to-door for a civic election in Dhamnod, Madhya Pradesh. This confirms that the video predates the 2026 Assembly elections and is unrelated to the new UGC guidelines notified in January 2026.

Further verification through multiple media reports from January 2018 covering the same incident supports this conclusion. According to these reports, an elderly man used the garland of shoes to protest against an acute water shortage in the area, alleging that the local authorities had failed to address the issue. The protest was directed at Dinesh Sharma, who was the BJP candidate at the time.

The confusion surrounding the video seems to stem from its reuse in the context of the 2026 Assembly elections and the UGC guidelines. However, the facts clearly indicate that the video is a relic of a 2018 incident in Madhya Pradesh and has no connection to the upcoming elections or the recent UGC notifications.

As the election campaign gathers momentum, it is crucial for voters and the public to be aware of such misleading claims and to verify the authenticity of information shared on social media. The ECI and other fact-checking organizations are playing a vital role in combating misinformation during the electoral process.

In conclusion, the video of a BJP leader being garlanded with shoes is a 2018 incident from Madhya Pradesh and is unrelated to the 2026 Assembly elections or the new UGC guidelines. It serves as a reminder of the need for critical evaluation of information shared during election campaigns to avoid confusion and ensure a fair and informed electorate.