Shah files nomination from Gandhinagar in LS poll debut; senior BJP leaders, allies attend event

BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday filed nomination papers for his maiden Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, currently represented by L K Advani, and later asserted in a rally that people saw in Prime Minister Narendra Modi a leader they had been waiting for the last 70 years.

In what is being seen as a demonstration of his political heft and status as the second most powerful person in the party after Prime Minister Modi, a road show and a rally was held which was attended two ex-BJP chiefs -- Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari -- besides allies like Shiv Sena's Uuddhav Thackeray, SAD's Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party's Ram Vilas Paswan.

Prior to the filing his nomination, a well-attended four-kilometre road show from Sardar Patel statue in Naranpura to Prabhat Chowk in Ghatlodia saw Shah in an open vehicle along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and other local leaders.

After that, Shah drove to Gandhinagar and submitted nomination papers to Gandhinagar District Collector S K Langa in presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, besides Singh, Thackeray and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

At a public gathering before the road show, the BJP chief said, "This election will be fought on only one issue, and that is who will lead this country. When I ask who will lead the country, from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Kamrup to Gandhinagar, only one word is heard, that is: Modi, Modi, Modi."
Noting that he used to paste posters in Gandhinagar during polls as an ordinary BJP worker, and has now become its president and candidate for the general election, Shah said, "It is possible only in the BJP."