UNION Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been re-nominated 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 Hanuman temple. “Of the 1500-odd parties in India, BJP is the only outfit which will make a small-time party worker like me, a Union Minister and its President.”