Do stage collapses during assembly poll rallies indicate political collapse? Several news reports came of falling stages that are temporarily raised to address the important party speakers including the contestant. One after another dais break and politicians have to bear the brunt physically. The day before yesterday, Pappu Yadav came down with all present on the platform in the Meenapur assembly area. His hand was painfully fractured. Treatment carries on but the desperation to remain present before the supporters looked large on his face. What he never expected happened in an instant. The crowd on the stage is said to have caused the collapse.
Likewise, the stage on which Congress candidate from Jale assembly seat, Mashkoor Ahmad Usman, was addressing at a rally broke in Bihar’s Darbhanga. In a similar incident, another stage collapsed and took down party leaders Imran Pratapgarhi and Akhilesh Singh along with several party workers who were on the dais during a Congress rally at Bagahi Deoraj in Champaran.
It shows there is no end to the ‘dais slumping’ this precarious time. Maybe the dread of the stage breaking took precedence over the Coronavirus scare. Our politicians probably now fear treading the platforms raised for them. They probably feel more comfortable in virtual rallies. At least there is no danger of the stage collapsing on a digital platform.
In history books, we’ve read about the grand gate or stage collapse which caused the death of Jalaluddin Khilji at Kada Manikpur in Allahabad, though this city had not come into existence during that time. His tomb still exists in a very dilapidated condition in Kada area. Was it an unexpected collapse or was it Allauddin Khilji’s plan to kill his uncle? This remains unclear.