Etawah: Amid intense campaigning ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha byelection, a sudden announcement from the public address system of the enquiry office at the Etawah railway station came as a big shock for hundreds of train passengers there. According to reports, the announcement made at the public address system sought support for Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav, who is contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.


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It has emerged that a group of five to six persons forcibly entered the inquiry office on Sunday and started raising slogans "Dimple Bhabhi Zindabad" and “vote for Dimple Yadav” from the public announcement system installed there.


Railway employees present during the incident told reporters that some miscreants had forcibly entered the inquiry office and after raising the slogans for about 15-20 times, they fled from the spot.


"Usually, the public address system of the inquiry office is used to tell passengers about the trains` movement. But at around 11 p.m., we were shocked to hear slogans of `Dimple Bhabhi Zindabad` from there," said a passenger.


Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar, an employee of the inquiry office, said that about five to six unidentified persons entered the inquiry room and started raising slogans. "We have apprised senior authorities about the incident," he added.


Chief public relations officer of the North Central Railway Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay said that they are aware of the incident. "Investigation is on and strict action will be taken against the guilty under the discipline and conduct rules," he said.


It may be noted that voting for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha by-election is to be held on December 5 and the result will be declared on December 8. Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat is a prestigious seat for the Yadav family and is a Samajwadi Party bastion.


BJP has fielded for party MP Raghuraj Singh Shakya to take on SP's Dimple Yadav. It was earlier speculated that Shivpal Singh Yadav may also contest. But Samajwadi Party declared Dimple Yadav as its candidate. According to family sources, Shivpal Singh Yadav also supported Dimple Yadav`s candidature after which the Samajwadi Party went a step further and included his name in its list of star campaigners.


At present, both parties are putting their full force into the campaign. Late Mulayam Singh Yadav was a continuous MP from here. However, in the last Lok Sabha elections, Mulayam`s victory margin was very thin. Since then, it was believed that after Mulayam, Mainpuri would not be easy for the SP. This became further clear only in the by-elections that were held after the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav. If political pundits are to be believed, now the matter is 50-50.


(With IANS Inputs)