Fact Check: Was BJP Leader Kangana Ranaut Clicked With Gangster Abu Salem?

Several users have shared the photo to imply a connection between Ranaut and the 1993 Mumbai blast convict who is currently serving a life sentence.

The claim

A picture of actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut with a man has gone viral on social media with the claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader posed for a photograph with gangster Abu Salem. 

Several users have shared the photo to imply a connection between Ranaut and the 1993 Mumbai blast convict who is currently serving a life sentence. The viral image had an overlaid text in Hindi, which translated to, "Some memorable moments of devotees' lioness (referring to Ranaut) with the country's enemy Abu Salem."  Ranaut is the BJP candidate from the Mandi constituency in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, which goes to polls on June 1, in the seventh and final phase of the Indian general elections. 

An X (formerly Twitter) user sharing the image wrote, "Sister of blind devotees, spending some memorable moments with 'Abu Salem'... (translated from Hindi)." The post was viewed 57,000 times at the time of writing this story. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here, here, and here.