Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav rush out of Prayagraj rally amid ruckus by party workers

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav rushed out of a public meeting in Prayagraj on Sunday after a ruckus broke out in the crowd and a stampede-like situation led to security threats. The two senior political leaders left the public rally without addressing the crowd.

The incident took place at a public meeting at Padila in Phulpur Parliamentary constituency of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, where Gandhi and Yadav left the rally without addressing the crowd. Congress and SP workers reportedly got out of control and attempted to reach the stage.

Akhilesh and Rahul repeatedly requested party workers to calm down and settle but their appeals went unheeded. Police and security personnel struggled to control the excited crowd.

After making multiple appeals to the crowd, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav held a brief discussion among themselves and left the venue to avoid any lapse in security. Visuals from the event showed broken barricades and a swelling crowd.

After leaving the rally in Phulpur, Rahul and Akhilesh arrived at Mungari in Karachhana for the second rally in the Prayagraj district under the Allahabad parliamentary seat. A similar situation was witnessed at this rally, with an excited crowd breaking the barricades and attempting to reach the stage.

Earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav addressed a poll rally at Amethi, which was a stronghold for the former Congress president before losing the seat to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024 will take place tomorrow, May 20, where the fate of many key candidates such as Rahul Gandhi, Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani will be sealed. The Uttar Pradesh seats going to polls in the fifth phase are Mohanlalganj (SC), Rae Bareli, Amethi, Jalaun (SC), Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Kaisarganj and Gonda.

Rahul Gandhi is in the fray from Rae Bareli, which was represented by his mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier.

(With inputs from agencies)