The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah filed nomination for Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, on Saturday, in the presence of Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Shah presently is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Shah, started his election campaign by garlanding the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gandhinagar. He has replaced BJP veteran L K Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from Gandhinagar since 1998, from the prestigious constituency. Shah is contesting the Lok Sabha poll for the first time.
Shah also addressed a rally in the city before embarking on a massive roadshow.
Shah's nomination from the Gandhinagar seat marked a generational shift in the BJP as this seat was held by Advani for six terms. The state BJP feels that Shah's nomination will energise the party in Gujarat and help it win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
As an MLA, Shah had earlier represented Sarkhej constituency. After delimitation, he was an MLA from Naranpura constituency. Both the seats were under Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.
General elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May, and on the same day, the results will be declared.
Legislative Assembly elections in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will be held simultaneously with the general election.
(With PTI inputs)
