Fact-check: No, Kanhaiya Kumar Did Not Campaign Alongside An Image of Afzal Guru

A photo of CPI's Begursarai candidate Kanhaiya Kumar has been shared hundreds of times in Facebook and Twitter posts which shows him campaigning in the ongoing elections alongside an image of Afzal Guru. The claim is false; the image has been doctored to include the Kashmiri separatist leader’s photo instead of a symbol for the Communist Party of India.

The photo was shared here on Facebook on May 5, 2019.

Below is a screenshot of the post:

Snapshot of the misleading Facebook post

The Hindi language caption alongside the photo in the misleading post translates to English as: “Kanhaiya is doing roadshow and seeking votes with an image of Afzal Guru, who is convicted for terrorism by the Supreme Court. Why isn't the election commission is taking notice of this? Think what is his mentality? Who are the Hindus supporting his and what are they thinking? Are we so forsaken that we will vote for a terror-supporter? In what direction we are thinking? Think, understand and then take a right decision to vote in the interest of the country.”

The same photo was shared on Facebook here, here and here, and on Twitter here and here with a similar claim.

But the claim is false; the image has been doctored to include the Kashmiri separatist leader’s photo instead of a symbol for the Communist Party of India.

A reverse image search on Google found the photo was originally posted here on Kanhaiya Kumar’s official Facebook page on April 27, 2019:

The photo was included in his Facebook post here.

The Hindi language caption translates to English as: “Glittering straws of lies disappears when people take to streets. Today this was the scene of Begusarai, tomorrow it will of the whole country. Look at how the public's skyrocketing excitement was in today's mobile torch rally.”

Kanhaiya Kumar also posted the same photo here in a post containing multiple images on his verified Instagram page:

In the original photos shared by Kanhaiya Kumar, the initials “CPI” refer to the Communist Party of India, while the ears of corn and a sickle represents one of the party’s logos.

Here is a recent statement issued by the CPI chief and published on the party’s official website that shows the symbol.

Below is a screenshot of the image:

Screenshot of CPI statement with party symbol

The original photos posted by Kumar show him campaigning in the Begusarai district of Bihar.

Here is a video report by Hindi TV channel channel ABP news published on April 27, 2019, about the rally.