It was political one-upmanship at its best in Firozabad on Friday.

An hour before Rahul Gandhi arrived to campaign for Congress candidate Raj Babbar, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son and Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav’s husband Akhilesh Yadav took out an unscheduled bicycle roadshow, passing in front of the venue of the Congress rally. The roadshow only added to the chaos in the town and the traffic came to a grinding halt.

However, despite the confusion, the crowds at the P D Inter College Ground on Friday were far bigger than those seen at Dimple Yadav’s rally at the same place a few days back. With the ground packed, many stood on the nearby bridge, others watched from the rooftops, balconies and windows.

Rahul made no mention of Mulayam or the Samajwadi Party in his speech, nor did he talk about Dimple Yadav. In the only reference to the November 7 bypoll, the Amethi MP asked the people to vote for Raj Babbar, promising them that the former actor would be sitting next to him in the Lok Sabha and together they would work for the development of Firozabad. This drew loud applause and Raj Babbar, already pleased with the big turnout, beamed.

Raj Babbar, in his address, lashed out at Akhilesh for taking out the bicycle roadshow just before the Congress rally. “They brought the bicycles on the roads to create a traffic jam so that people would not come here. But the people have foiled their attempts, because they know he (Rahul) will always be there for our needs,” the Congress candidate said.