Game on in UP as wave in favour of anyone missing

An estimated crowd of 10,000 here was out in the scorching sun for quite a few hours on Sunday as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress party scion Rahul Gandhi showcased their poll partnership.

It was the last opportunity for the two leaders of the coalition, of rivals-turned-friends, to catch voters on a holiday before the fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh’s legislative assembly election on Thursday. This city is at the centre of Bundelkhand, the region comprising districts in both UP and Madhya Pradesh. 

      

Full-page advertisements in local papers had put the time of the Samajwadi-Congress rally, first in the region, at 11 am. As a blue and yellow helicopter circled over the large ground of the  Government Inter College well past 1 pm, driving the crowd into a frenzy, copies of Bollywood songs in praise of Akhilesh and Rahul got louder. It took, however, more than an hour later before the two finally landed at a helipad close to the rally, after crisscrossing several other constituencies, such as Chirgaon and Maurani, before flying off to a few more. Rahul in white kurta and blue jeans, Akhilesh in black jacket with white kurta-pyjama, teamed with his SP’s red cap.