At Rahul Gandhi's latest Khaat Sabha in UP, some cots were looted but recovered.
Mirzapur, UP:
At Rahul Gandhi's latest "Khaat Sabha" in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, a voice on the mic warned the gathering against making off with any party favours, specifically, the khatiyas or cots.
"Khaat chhodke chale jao (leave the cots and go)," a Congress leader said sternly on the mic as Mr Gandhi finished his speech at the meeting in Mirzapur in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh.
Around half a dozen cots were still ferreted away, but reports suggest Congress workers were quick to recover them.
A farmer was heard telling reporters that he felt cheated. "A Congress leader told us khaat milega (you will get a cot). We got nothing," he told the news agency ANI. Asked whether he came for Rahul Gandhi's speech at all, he replied: "We came both for the speech and the khaat."
The Congress vice president's khaat sabhas - an innovative take on village meetings where elders are seated on cots fashioned out of rope and wood - are the centerpiece of his farmer-focused outreach in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held early next year.
But the first of these events drew more attention because of what came to be known as the "cot loot".
The moment Mr Gandhi ended his speech, locals were seen walking away with some 2,000 brand new cots laid out for the event.
The khaat sabha was devised by election strategist Prashant Kishor, the man behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular Chai Pe Charcha campaign for the 2014 national election.
Mr Kishor is planning the UP campaign for the Congress and has planned Mr Gandhi's month-long tour.
At the second khaat sabha on the day of the disaster, Mr Kishor reportedly told a journalist: "Look, no one is stealing anything here."
"Khaat chhodke chale jao (leave the cots and go)," a Congress leader said sternly on the mic as Mr Gandhi finished his speech at the meeting in Mirzapur in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh.
Around half a dozen cots were still ferreted away, but reports suggest Congress workers were quick to recover them.
A farmer was heard telling reporters that he felt cheated. "A Congress leader told us khaat milega (you will get a cot). We got nothing," he told the news agency ANI. Asked whether he came for Rahul Gandhi's speech at all, he replied: "We came both for the speech and the khaat."
The Congress vice president's khaat sabhas - an innovative take on village meetings where elders are seated on cots fashioned out of rope and wood - are the centerpiece of his farmer-focused outreach in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held early next year.
But the first of these events drew more attention because of what came to be known as the "cot loot".
The moment Mr Gandhi ended his speech, locals were seen walking away with some 2,000 brand new cots laid out for the event.
The khaat sabha was devised by election strategist Prashant Kishor, the man behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular Chai Pe Charcha campaign for the 2014 national election.
Mr Kishor is planning the UP campaign for the Congress and has planned Mr Gandhi's month-long tour.
At the second khaat sabha on the day of the disaster, Mr Kishor reportedly told a journalist: "Look, no one is stealing anything here."
