Two people died at an election rally organised by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Virudhachalam, around 200 km from Chennai. Fifteen more people were injured in a stampede that was reportedly caused by heat and improper planning by party people. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was due to address the rally at 3 pm on Monday. Once she arrived at the rally many attendees began to leave, a Firstpost report said. Thirteen AIADMK candidates introduced at the rally were told to bring 20,000 people to the event, the report added, and many people waited in the blazing sun from 9 am onwards.
Six people were admitted to the intensive care unit of a local government hospital. The chief minister condoled the deaths at the event but there has been no official response from the party regarding what led to their deaths.
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