Chaos at Samajwadi Party rally in Lalganj: Stampede-like situation as supporters surge

Lalganj: An election rally in the Lalganj Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, addressed by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, descended into chaos as unruly supporters created a stampede-like situation.

The rally, held near Kherwa crossing in the Nizamabad Assembly segment, saw party workers and supporters jostling, climbing over barriers, and breaking security protocols to catch a glimpse of Yadav. Supporters of SP’s Lalganj candidate, Inspector Prasad Saroj, broke through barricades and rushed towards the stage, ignoring security protocols. The situation worsened as stones and chairs were thrown, creating a dangerous environment.

This is the third instance of a rally led by Yadav ending in disorder, with a similar incident occurring on May 19 in Phulpur where an event with Rahul Gandhi had to be called off due to crowd surge.

The rally site was left littered with broken chairs and torn banners. Police intervention, including a lathi charge, was required to restore order. Despite appeals from Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders on stage for calm, the crowd remained unmanageable until the police stepped in.

Once order was restored, Yadav addressed the crowd, emphasizing the widespread support for the Samajwadi Party as a sign of deep resentment against the BJP government.

“The groundswell of support for the Samajwadi Party is a manifestation of deep resentment against the double engine BJP government, known for making false promises with development only on paper,” he said. He assured the audience that the INDIA Opposition bloc would honor the people’s trust and work to fulfill their aspirations, predicting a significant defeat for the BJP in the upcoming election phases.

Yadav also made promises to increase the quantity of free food grains from 5kg to 10kg per month and provide free data to all mobile phone holders if the Opposition bloc forms the government. He criticized the BJP, predicting that they would not secure even 140 seats out of the 543 in the Lok Sabha.

In 2019, the Lalganj seat was won by Sangeeta Azad of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), who has since joined the BJP. The Samajwadi Party last won this seat in 2004.

A similar incident occurred in the Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha constituency, where an election meeting addressed by SP General Secretary Shivpal Yadav was disrupted by unruly supporters. The platform collapsed under the weight of numerous party cadres, though no injuries were reported, and Shivpal Yadav left the venue shortly thereafter. Lalji Verma is the SP candidate from

this seat.