Nagpur, Mar 27 (IANS): The MahaYuti partners in Maharashtra -- BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, and factions of the Republican Party of India -- staged a show of strength on Wednesday as Union Minister and BJP nominee Nitin Gadkari filed his nomination from Nagpur.
Leaders present at the rally unanimously urged the workers to work wholeheartedly to ensure Gadkari’s victory by a record margin. Two-time sitting MP from Nagpur, Gadkari is up against Congress nominee Vikas Thakre this time.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and NCP Working President Praful Patel were present at the rally before Gadkari filed his nomination, among others.
"Gadkari, who is the commander-in-chief of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 resolution, should be elected with a record majority. The work done by the Narendra Modi government in the last 10 years was a trailer... A lot more needs to be done to make the country strong and developed.
"Under the leadership of PM Modi, we want to create a poverty-free, unemployment-free, and egalitarian India in the next five years. The Prime Minister has resolved to make India a developed country by 2047. New milestones will be set up in the next five years, and therefore people should elect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for the third time," said Fadnavis.
BJP nominee from Bhandara-Gondiya, Sunil Mendhe, also filed his nomination on Wednesday. Mendhe is pitted against Congress nominee Prashant Patole.
The BJP, which has resolved to achieve 'Mission 45-plus' with its allies in Maharashtra, proposes to reach out to one crore voters by organising 21,000 Namo Samvads across the state.
At the Namo Samvad events, the party plans to present a comparative picture of India before and after 2014, with a focus on the emergence of a New India under the Narendra Modi-led government.
BJP General Secretary Vikrant Patil said that many important leaders at the national and regional levels will campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
The Namo Samvad meetings will be organised to reach out to the maximum number of voters directly. These meetings will be scheduled as per the voting phases in the state. Nearly 300 speakers will participate in these meetings which will be held at 21,000 Shakti Kendras, he said.
Patil also said that the party will undertake several other programmes, including 'Namo Choupal' and 'Coffee With Youth' in the rural areas of the state.