BJP stalwarts in Amit Shah mega show for nomination from Gandhinagar seat

BJP president Amit Shah Saturday held a massive roadshow here before filing his nomination for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Lakhs of people greeted Shah on the four-km route from where his road show passed.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel accompanied Shah in an open vehicle during the roadshow that started from Sardar Patel statue in Naranpura area in Ahmedabad. BJP workers and people thronged the street to greet Shah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time. It was a massive show of strength for the BJP, which aims to retain all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat it had won in 2014.

The roadshow ended at Prabhat Chowk area of Ghatlodia, after which Shah left for Gandhinagar to file the nomination papers. Before embarking on the road show, Shah also addressed a rally in Ahmedabad, where leaders of BJP's allies such as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan were also present on the stage. Shah has replaced BJP veteran L K Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from Gandhinagar since 1998, from the prestigious constituency.