Amit Shah, the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP,) on the 30th of March, filed his nomination to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, a mere eleven days before the elections.
While addressing the public at a meeting in Naranpura, Ahmedabad, Amit Shah said, he was proud to uphold a seat previously by held by L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Shah is going to contest the elections for the first time ever from Gandhinagar.
“This election will be fought only on the issue of who will lead the country… When I ask this question to people from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Gandhinagar, I can only hear one sound – ‘Modi, Modi, Modi’,” Mr Shah said while announcing his nomination.
Noted BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari were present while Shah filed his nomination papers.
Apart from these leaders, Shiv Sena members like Uddhav Thackeray were also present.
While congratulating Shah after the filing of his nomination, Thackeray said, “A lot of people are surprised that I am here. When we sat together we have solved our issues and our disagreements… Hindutva is our breath. How will we live without Hindutva?”
This statement and the presence of the Shiv Sena members is being seen as encouragement for Shah. It is also seen as an extremely encouraging fact that this seat was previously held by an undefeated Advani.
Upset over not getting a ticket to contest the elections from Gandhinagar, L.K. Advani did not attend the road show.
The last date for filing nominations is the 4th of April. The elections in Gujarat will be held on the 23rd of April.
The BJP and the Indian National Congress (INC) are two of the major contesting parties in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
The results of the Lok Sabha elections will be released on the 23rd of May.
Stay tuned for more updates.
