Several news outlets including Asian News International (ANI), NDTV shared a video of Akhilesh Yadav and misleadingly claimed that the Samajwadi Party chief removed his signature red cap and donned a saffron turban ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections during a press interaction on October 26, 2026.
The video reports soon became a political flashpoint, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing Yadav of resorting to “soft Hindutva” tactics and embracing saffron, a colour closely associated with the ruling party, to appeal to voters.
BOOM reviewed the livestream of the press conference chaired by Yadav and found that the turban was red, not saffron. Journalist Piyush Rai, who attended the press conference, also confirmed the same.
The Claim
News agency ANI shared the video with the caption, “WATCH! Akhilesh Yadav removes red cap, ties saffron turban ahead of UP elections”.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Other news outlets, including Times Now, NDTV and ABP News, also reported that Yadav had removed his red cap and tied a saffron turban.
What We Found: Yadav Wore a Red Turban, Not a Saffron One
1. Livestream Shows Yadav Wearing a Red Turban: BOOM found that the event was livestreamed on the Samajwadi Party’s official YouTube channel on October 26, 2026. The moment Yadav had his turban tied appears at the 38:07 mark. We observed that the turban was red, a colour that also matched the shade of the Samajwadi Party poster visible in the background.
2. Journalist Confirms Turban Was Red: BOOM spoke to journalist Piyush Rai, who attended Yadav’s press conference and confirmed that the turban was red, contrary to news reports describing it as saffron. Rai told BOOM, “I was there at the press conference and can confirm that the colour of the turban tied to Yadav was red and not saffron.”
Rai added that the confusion over the turban’s colour may have stemmed from the lighting at the press conference. He also shared a photograph showing the turban’s colour on his X handle, which corroborates that Yadav wore a red turban.
'What Kind of Lens?': Yadav Mocks Reports on His Turban's Colour
After the news reports sparked a political controversy, Yadav took a dig at media outlets for describing his red turban as saffron during his address on October 27, 2026.
The SP chief said, “Some people’s cameras are such that even the colour red appears saffron to them. The truth about these one-colour people is that if they take off their masks, they too will appear to be of just one colour. I wonder what kind of lens they come fitted with. They are ‘N for negative’ people.”
Yadav’s remarks can be heard in the livestream of the address on the Samajwadi Party’s official YouTube channel at the 36:54 mark.