There was a stampede-like situation at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh Tuesday that was headlined by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The chaos erupted after the former UP Chief Minister arrived at the event, with over-eager party workers and supporters jostling with each other, and climbing over wooden barriers, to see Mr Yadav.
As the jostling and shoving escalated, not helped at points by unruly sections, the meeting devolved into bedlam. This was the third time a rally led by Mr Yadav has ended in disorder.
Visuals from the scene today showed carnage at a fair ground in the town of Saraymeer, with broken chairs and torn streamers littering the ground, prompting the police to step in and try and control the situation. The cops had to resort to a lathi charge to do so.
During the chaos Mr Yadav and others, including leaders from the INDIA opposition bloc, remained on stage and appealed, in vain, for the supporters and workers to calm down. The appeals, unfortunately, had no effect. Eventually, though, police restored a measure of order and Mr Yadav addressed the crowd.
The public rally was being held for the SP candidate in the Lalganj Lok Sabha seat, which Mr Yadav's party is trying to win for the first time since Daroga Prasad's 2004 success.
In 2019 the seat was won by Sangeeta Azad from Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party.
In this election Daroga Prasad has been fielded (as the joint INDIA bloc candidate) by the Samajwadi Party against the BJP's Neelam Sonkar and the BSP's Indu Chaudhry.
The Lalganj seat will vote in the sixth phase - on May 25.
This is not the first time chaos has visited one of Mr Yadav's rallies in this election.
Earlier this week a rally in Prayagraj's Phulpur had to be cancelled, leaving Mr Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who was also on stage, free for an impromptu on-stage chat.
READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Chat On Stage As Rally Scrapped Over Chaos
Mr Yadav and Mr Gandhi had to abandon plans for another joint election meeting, each without delivering their speeches. Sources said supporters broke through barricades trying to reach the dais at the rally.
READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Leave Rally Without Speech. Here's Why
UP is a key battleground as the BJP bids for a third consecutive term in power. The state - dominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party in the last two general elections and intervening state polls - sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, by far the most of any state.
According to the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats while the Congress is contesting 17.
The state has voted in every phase so far and will vote in the sixth and seventh phases too.
The results will be out on June 4.
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
Chaos Over No Meat In Mutton Gravy At BJP MP's Feast. Akhilesh Yadav's Jibe Allahabad High Court Grants Bail To Former Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki In Arson Case "Bulldozer Will Remain In Garage Now": Akhilesh Yadav Jabs Yogi Adityanath Ashneer Grover's LinkedIn Post After Salman Khan Schools Him On Bigg Boss What Canada Police Said On Indian-Origin Woman's Death Inside Walmart Oven Why Donald Trump's Cabinet Choices Are Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights Where Is Meghan Markle? Questions Grow About Duchess Of Sussex's Absence Hong Kong Jails 45 Pro-Democracy Campaigners In Largest Security Case PM Modi Pays Tributes To Indira Gandhi On Her 107th Birth Anniversary Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.