NEW DELHI: Congress MP
Rahul Gandhi
and Samajwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav
had to cut short their rally in Prayagraj on Sunday, following a stampede-like situation that turned into a potential
security threat
.
Both the leaders left without addressing the meeting at Padila in Phulpur Parliamentary constituency.
Both, Rahul and Akhilesh appealed to the crowd to maintain the order, as police and security personnel struggled to control it.
Following the incident in Phulpur, Rahul and Akhilesh proceeded to Mungari in Karachhana for a second rally in the Prayagraj district under the Allahabad parliamentary seat. Meanwhile, a similar situation was seen there, with crowd breaking through the barricades in an attempt to reach the stage.
The two leaders had previously addressed a poll rally in Amethi earlier in the week, which was once a stronghold for Rahul Gandhi before he lost the seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections.
The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024 is scheduled for May 20, where the fate of key candidates such as Rahul Gandhi, Rajnath Singh, and Smriti Irani will be decided.
The Uttar Pradesh seats going to polls in this phase include Mohanlalganj (SC), Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun (SC), Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Kaisarganj, and Gonda.