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Updated: Mar 30, 2019 17:34 IST

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah filed his nomination from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat on Saturday in presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, and NDA leaders including Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Before kick-starting campaign for his Lok Sabha debut, Shah summed up his nearly four decades’ political journey in two lines. “My life holds no meaning without the BJP. Whatever I have learned or achieved is all because of the association with the party,” he said.

To mark a new beginning in the soaring graph of the party president, BJP workers from across Gujarat thronged Patidar Chowk in Ahmedabad’s Naranpura area. Shah recalled how he started serving the BJP as booth in-charge at Saraswati School in the same locality way back in 1982 and went to become state minister. At present he represents Gujarat in Rajya Sabha.

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As he took out a four-km long road show between Naranpura and Gandhinagar collector office in an open truck, women party workers performed garba and their male counterparts marched with the party flag. Artists from various states performed on 24 stages along Shah’s route.

Thanking the party’s “top leadership” for fielding him from Gandhinagar, Shah said, “Today, Gandhinagar is among the most developed areas of the country. I will try to take Advaniji’s legacy to new heights with humility, from the core of my heart and with hard work.”

A BJP stronghold, Gandhinagar constituency has voted for the party for past 30 years. Advani has represented Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha six times including five consecutive terms. Advani is the sitting MP from Gandhinagar.

In a show of strength of the alliance power, top NDA leaders, besides Thackeray, who addressed the rally included Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

The message was very clear. “Who should lead the nation?” asked Shah. The crowd in unison replied: “Modi.” His speech lasted less than 10 minutes, without any mention of the opposition.