Fan surge forces Rahul, Akhilesh to leave Phulpur rally

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, May 19

Thousands of people broke barricades to get a closer look at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, forcing the two to leave in haste as a stampede-like situation prevailed at a public rally in the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj region on Sunday.

The two senior leaders of the INDIA bloc opted to exit the public rally without addressing the assembled crowd.

The rally was organised in Padila in Phulpur Lok Sabha in support of Amarnath Singh Maurya of Samjwadi Party who is pitted against Praveen Patel of the BJP and Jagannath Pal of the BSP.

The incident unfolded as workers from both Congress and Samajwadi Party lost control and attempted to breach the security to reach the stage. A massive crowd of workers from both parties flooded the rally, as Gandhi and Akhilesh attracted a large crowd, prompting the workers to break through the barricades and surge onto the stage. Despite repeated requests from both leaders, urging party workers to remain calm and settle, their appeals were disregarded. The police and security personnel faced challenges in managing the agitated crowd.

Following numerous attempts to pacify the situation, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav engaged in a brief discussion among themselves, subsequently, they made the decision to depart from the venue to prevent any compromise in security. Visuals from the event depicted broken barricades and a growing crowd, underscoring the intensity of the situation.

“This is not just a crowd…It’s the call of justice warriors of INDIA bloc’s fierce battle to defend the Constitution. The arrogance of BJP will be shattered and INDIA will triumph!”, the Congress shared a post on his X account, with a video of Rahul Gandhi greeting the crowd.

Revati Raman Singh, father of Congress candidate Ujjwal Raman Singh from Prayagraj, expressed concerns over the chaotic situation at the rally, saying the crowd was uncontrollable, and the police presence was insufficient.

“People surged towards the stage, leading Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav to exit without delivering their speeches in Phulpur.” Singh attributed the mismanagement to the inadequate police force, possibly diverted for election duty elsewhere.

Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have jointly addressed several poll rallies in Uttar Pradesh, even in Amethi and Raebareli, a bastion for the former Congress president until he lost the seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 General Election.

Later, both leaders went to Allahabad to address another rally in support of Congress candidate Ujjawal Raman Singh. Akhilesh Yadav went to address another rally in Allahabad. Addressing the rally, Rahul urged the party workers to ensure Singh’s victory by a margin of over five lakh seats.

“The farmer standing here will know that his income has not doubled. In the 10 years of government, one lakh farmers have committed suicide. Farmers are going to be helped in the coming times,” Akhilesh said, urging the charged crowd to preserve their energy and anger against this government till the voting day of sixth phase.