Modi by his side, Advani files nomination for Gandhinagar

After courting controversy over selection of seat, veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani on Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat with party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by his side.

Accompanied by Modi, 86-year-old Advani arrived at the Gandhinagar district collector's office to file his nomination papers. His daughter Pratibha Advani, Gujarat Revenue Minister Anandi Patel and other party leaders also accompanied the five-time MP from Gandhinagar. Advani handed over his papers to Returning Officer P Swaroop.

According to his declaration before the Election Commission, Advani has assets worth Rs 6.6 crore, which included Rs 1.02 crore of moveable assets and Rs 5.57 crore in form of immovable assets. In 2009, he had total assets of Rs 3.04 crore, with Rs 69.36-lakh movable and Rs 2.35 crore immovable assets. The total income, as per his tax returns for 2012-13, is Rs 29.70 lakh. (ADVANI'S ASSET CHECK)

He declared that he was an accused in the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition case. An appeal in this regard was pending before the apex court.

Before filing the nomination papers, Advani and Modi addressed a public gathering in a village near Gandhinagar.

Modi exhorted party workers to ensure the victory of Advani with a huge margin and recalled the illustrious political career of the party patriarch. Advani too praised Modi, calling him an able administrator.

"I will not call Narendra bhai my protégé, but I have never seen a more brilliant and efficient event manager than him. And this event management capacity he had brought to governance also. That has made him more suitable for the assignment the party has given to him," Advani said.

He said Modi has proved to be a remarkable leader, not just of the BJP but even when he was an RSS pracharak. He, however, said Modi should not be compared with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Earlier, Advani dismissed the allegations that he was not keen on contesting from Gandhinagar. "Our friends from Madhya Pradesh wanted me to contest from Bhopal also. But I have never intended not contesting from Gandhinagar," he said. The veteran leader recalled his ties with Gujarat and Gandhinagar from where he is seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha for the sixth term.