Rahul, Akhilesh, Amit Shah hold road shows

Hundreds and thousands on Tuesday joined the roadshow of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav here on Tuesday. BJP President Amit Shah also staged a show of strength in the same city.

Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav started their roadshow from the Bolsan roundabout where they garlanded a Mahatma Gandhi statue before proceeding ahead with slogan-shouting crowds.

Clad in white kurta and blue jeans, the Gandhi scion waved at the crowds lined up on both sides of the roads.

Akhilesh Yadav, in his characteristic white kurta-payjama and a black jacket and sporting the party's red cap, kept disciplining the youths, asking them off and on to move aside and allow their bus to move ahead.

Hundreds of Congress and Samajwadi Party activists walked in front of the cavalcade, raising slogans hailing Akhilesh Yadav and Gandhi.

The specially improvised bus made its way from Anand Bhawan to Civil Lines and from there to Golf Park.

Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, escorted by state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, also took out a roadshow in the city almost at the same time but took a different route.

Shah began after garlanding the statue of Chandra Shekhar Azad. His cavalcade moved from near the Allapur police station to Ghantaghar.

BJP supporters showered rose petals from atop their houses all through the route.

Twelve assembly seats in Allahabad go to the polls on Thursday in the fourth round of polling in Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

md/mr/sar