LS polls: Amit Shah starts campaign for Gandhinagar seat; tells cadres it’s about Bharat, not BJP

PTI, Mar 15, 2024, 1:17 PM IST

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been renominated for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha, began his poll campaign on Friday and asked BJP workers to tell voters that this election is about Bharat and not their party. Shah, accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, first sought the blessings of Lord Hanuman at a temple on Gurukul Road and then offered floral tributes to the statue of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Shah appealed to his party cadres to contact each and every voter during the poll campaign and ensure that they press the “lotus button (on EVM)”. “Tell people that this election is not about Bharatiya Janata Party, but for Bharat,” he said, stressing that no voter should be left without being “contacted”.

The temple area where Shah addressed people falls under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Shah recalled his initial days in politics and shared with the people that when he contested his first Assembly elections nearly 30 years ago, he had begun his campaign after offering prayers at the same Hanuman temple.

“Of the 1500-odd parties in India, BJP is the only outfit which will make a small-time party worker like me, who used to distribute leaflets and put curtains for party events, a Union minister and its president. And, this party has made a tea-seller from a poor family the prime minister of this country and a world leader,” he said. Shah thanked BJP president J P Nadda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for renominating him from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and party veteran LK Advani had represented this high-profile seat in the past.

PM Modi during his 10-year tenure has made the entire country not only prosperous but also safe by dealing strictly with terrorism, Naxalism and infiltrators, he said.

“When China tried to transgress into Indian territory at Doklam, the entire world was watching anxiously, thinking what would happen next. In the past, such incidents never came to public attention and action was not taken from our side. This time, our PM looked China in the eye and said ‘no entry’. After 45 days, China stepped back,” said Shah.

He said the main issue of this Lok Sabha election is to make India great and urged cadres to ensure victory in more than 400 seats in the upcoming general election.

Not just Gujarat, the Union Home Minister said, the “Modi wave” has now swept the country. “Wherever he (Modi) goes, be it South India or Delhi, people chant ‘abki baar, 400 paar” (more than 400 seats this time).

In 2019, Shah won from the Gandhinagar constituency by defeating Congress candidate CJ Chavda, who is now with the BJP, by over 5 lakh votes. BJP had then made a clean sweep in Gujarat, winning all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The opposition Congress, which has entered into a seat-sharing agreement with AAP, is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.