Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday held three back-to-back roadshows covering a distance of nearly 20km in his Lok Sabha constituency of Gandhinagar in Gujarat amid much fanfare, a day before filing his nomination as the BJP candidate from the seat.
His third and final roadshow of the day traversed through areas falling under Sabarmati, Ghatlodia, Naranpura and Vejalpur assembly segments in Ahmedabad city, all part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, which the senior BJP leader won in 2019.
He was greeted with loud cheers by local residents, commuters and shopkeepers when his roadshow entered KK Nagar Road in Ghatlodia.
Standing on a specially-designed vehicle and accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state BJP president CR Paatil, Shah greeted local residents and BJP workers with equal enthusiasm. At regular intervals, Shah showered rose petals on his voters who waited for him in scorching heat.
Before the BJP stalwart's cavalcade entered KK Nagar Road from Ranip, his son Jay Shah, who is BCCI secretary, made a surprise entry in the scene as he walked for nearly 1km on the roadshow route amid loud chants of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Amit Shah Tum Aagey Badho Hum Tumhare Saath Hai" (a slogan expressing solidarity).
When Shah entered the area, he was greeted with large banners praising him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogation of Article 370(which provided special status to J&K), construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, building of four crore houses for the poor and distribution of free ration to nearly 80 crore beneficiaries.
On the ground, BJP workers were carrying the party flags, PM Modi's cut-outs as well as posters with messages like "Abki Baar 400 Paar", (this time more than 400-plus Lok Sabha seats), "Main Hu Modi Ka Parivar" and "Modi Ki Guarantee".
As soon as Shah's vehicle entered KK Nagar, he was greeted with live orchestra songs composed specially for him. One such song playing from a truck carrying huge speakers was "Amit Shah Kamaal Chhe" ("Amit Shah you are amazing").
A local BJP leader said nearly 1,000 orange-coloured 'safa', a kind of headgear, were distributed among party supporters and experts were hired to tie them during the roadshow.
To add some zing to the event, the ruling party had hired professional drummers and an operator to spray orange confetti in the air to welcome the Shah. To make sure participants remained energised and hydrated, BJP workers distributed chocolates, biscuits, water bottles and buttermilk to them on the route.
Earlier in the day, Shah held similar roadshows in Sanand town of Ahmedabad and Kalol of Gandhinagar district, both part of his Lok Sabha seat. The senior BJP leader, seeking re-election from Gandhinagar for a second term, will file his nomination papers on Friday, said Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave.
The prestigious constituency consists of seven assembly segments -- Gandhinagar North, Kalol, Sanand, Ghatlodia, Vejalpur, Naranpura and Sabarmati. All these assembly seats are with the ruling party.
The former BJP president won from Gandhinagar in 2019 with a margin of more than 5 lakh votes. In the past, the seat had been represented by BJP veteran and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.
The opposition Congress has fielded party secretary Sonal Patel from Gandhinagar. Patel filed her nomination papers on Tuesday. Voting for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will take place in a single phase on May 7.
Read More
