Gadkari flight diverted to Lucknow due to bad weather

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was flying to the national capital to attend the party meeting after its stupendous victory in general elections, could not land because of bad weather as his plane was diverted to Lucknow Thursday, his office said.

The special flight is now en route to Lucknow and he is likely to return to Delhi whenever Airport Traffic Controller (ATC) gives clearance, the office said.

The BJP had called a meeting of the party's parliamentary after results and trends showed it storming back to power with an absolute majority on its own.

The aircraft was priority No.1 for landing when it was approaching Delhi from Nagpur, sources said.

The pilot attempted landing but due to strong transverse winds couldn't land, waited for some more time before deciding to divert to Lucknow, they said.

Throughout this period Gadkari's aircraft was priority No.1 for landing and no other aircraft landed during this time.

Gadkari himself leading by a margin of 1.59 lakh votes over his nearest Congress rival Nana Patole from the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency.