VARANASI: A clash broke out between the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party workers during a joint roadshow of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi here on Saturday.
The roadshow took off from Kutchery at around 3 pm, close on the heels of a similar 'show of strength' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Lok Sabha constituency. Modi was on his way to offer prayers at two of the fabled temples of the ancient city.
As the procession reached Chaukaghat, with Gandhi and Yadav perched atop an open bus and a swarm of supporters marching on foot, SP workers came face to face with members of BJP which has set up a media centre nearby.
Tempers flared and workers of both parties started yelling and hurling stones at each other. The situation was soon brought under control as policemen deployed along the route resorted to lathicharge.
The roadshow thus went unhindered. The Gandhi-Yadhav duo was soon joined by the UP Chief Minister's wife and SP MP Dimple Yadav. While the Congress vice president and the UP CM have held many roadshows during the ongoing state assembly elections, it was for the first time that the Kannauj MP was joining them on the same platform.