At jam-packed venue, many couldn’t even spot the stage, let alone BSP president

Lucknow: Eco Garden in Lucknow, which has a capacity of around 5 lakh people, was jam-packed on Thursday. Mayawati holding a state-level rally, almost after 10 years in UP, was a reason big enough in itself to draw a crowd of party workers, voters, and supporters from across the state to Manyawar Shri Kanshi Ram Smarak Sthal at Jail Road. Mobile networks were jammed because of more than three lakh people inside the memorial. While the programme started, people could still be seen trickling in. Most of these supporters who came to see Behenji could not even see the stage, let alone listen to her. A few children were crying because the jostling crowd had separated them from their parents. Policemen and LIU teams at the place were of extreme help to such children. Because of the heat and the crowd, a few women fainted at the entry gates. All vehicles were stopped within a kilometre radius of the memorial. "Behenji specially asked not to bring senior citizens, physically challenged people, and children for the rally, but many of them still came," said Kapil Nirala, district secretary of the party in Ghazipur. Though people from Bahujan Volunteer Force (BVF) were present at the spot, they could not manage the huge turnout of people at the place.