Rajnath, Rajyavardhan file nomination papers
LUCKNOW: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday filed his nomination for Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow.
Party (BJP) leader Kalraj Mishra, Uttar Pradesh ministers as well as leaders of allies Janata Dal (United) and Apna Dal abharatiya Janata ccompanied Singh for a road show he held before filing his nomination.
In an address to his supporters, Singh praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh said, “India has surged ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has acknowledged the fact that Modi has done wonders to help the country attain great heights.”
“I have toured 10 states and the attraction towards Modi is amazing. The entire country wants to see him re-elected as the Prime Minister,” he said.
“I am a candidate for this seat and there is no need for me to deliver a long speech.
I know you all and you know me. I hope I will get another chance to represent you,” said Singh.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Singh had defeated Congress’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi by 2.72 lakh votes.
Joshi later joined the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and is now a minister in chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh.
Late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee represented Lucknow for a record five terms from 1991 to 2004.
Earlier in the day, Singh visited temples of Lord Hanuman in Hanuman Setu and Hazratganj. Singh would be up against Congress’s Acharya Pramod Krishnam. The Congress announced his candidature on Tuesday.
“Krishnam will file his nomination papers here on Thursday,” said Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesman Zeeshan Haider.
Thursday is the last day for filing nominations for the Lucknow seat that goes to the polls in fifth phase of the ongoing national elections on May 6, 2019.
Krishnam lost the 2014 Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate from Sambhal.
His name was on a list of three candidates Congress announced on Tuesday. With this, the party has so far announced 407 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
Besides Krishnam, the Congress fielded Vinay Kumar Pandey from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh and Pankaj Sanghvi from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Union minister of state for sports and IB, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore performed filed his nomination papers for the Jaipur Rural seat on Tuesday. Rathore was accompanied by his wife Gayatri, MLA Satish Punia, former MLA Rao Rajendra Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Kirorilal Meena and Baba Ramdev. Rathore will contest against sitting MLA and Congress candidate Krishna Punia.