Rahul rally scrapped in Bareilly

BUMPY RIDE: Rahul was on the last leg of his three-day roadshow in UP. (Pic: media release)

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New Delhi: Just as Congress MP from Amethi Rahul Gandhi's campaign for the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh had begun to gain momentum, the district administration of Bareilly decided to play a spoilsport.

The district administration asked the party to call off the roadshow, scheduled to be held at 1100 hrs (IST) in a college campus in Bareilly on Tuesday.

The administration said that the rally it would disrupt the board examination schedule.

District Magistrate of Bareilly, Bhuvnesh Kumar, directed that the rally should not be held, as board exams were scheduled at the college from 1400 to 1700 hrs (IST).

"It was made clear to the organisers that once the exams begin, the public rally cannot take place and the public address system has to be switched off," PTI quoted Kumar as saying. "When this was conveyed to the honourable MP, he decided to cancel the meeting," he was further quoted.

Shortly before the board exams were to begin, the District Magistrate arrived at the spot and closed the campus gates. Over 145 students of classes X and XII are scheduled to have taken their exams at the centre.

The DM also directed the public address system be switched off. Party activists, who had been waiting for Rahul, were disappointed by the DM's decision.

Rahul, who is on the last leg of his three-day roadshow in western UP, arrived in Bareilly only by 1400 hours (IST). He had been delayed due to other meetings on his way to the venue.

"We were waiting to meet him. We are really disappointed that the meeting has been cancelled. Even if we had not got a chance to talk to him, at least we would have got to see him," PTI quoted party worker Khalid Ali as saying.

The district administration asked activists to reach Mirganj, the next venue of Rahul's roadshow.

Congress' Rahul Card
The 37-year-old Congress MP, kick-started the party's poll campaign from Ghaziabad on Sunday. He is scheduled to cover as many as 32 constituencies in the Western UP belt over three days.

The party's decision to rope in Rahul for UP's electoral battleground comes after an embarrassing defeat in two states — Punjab and Uttarakhand.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi too has admitted that UP, where it has been out of power for nearly two decades now, continues to be a difficult challenge.

The polling for the first phase will begin on April 7 and the subsequent six phases will end by May 7.

In all likelihood, the polls will witness a four-cornered contest, with the incumbent Samajwadi Party making a valiant effort to retain power and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party trying to emerge as the single largest party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress will be the two other main contenders in the race.

(With PTI inputs)