LS polls phase 1: Gadkari casts his vote in Nagpur, confident of victory by huge margin

Nagpur, Apr 19 (PTI) Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who is the BJP candidate from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, on Friday cast his vote here after polling began in the first phase of the parliamentary elections.

Gadkari, who is seeking his third term, arrived at the polling booth at Town Hall in the Mahal area with his wife, two sons and daughters-in-law.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, the minister expressed confidence that he would win by a huge margin.

Calling the elections the biggest festival of democracy, he said, “I hope the people in the country will use their right to vote, which is their responsibility as well.”

He appealed to the residents of Nagpur to vote as soon as possible in view of the rising temperature in the city.

Gadkari said the voter turnout last time was 54 per cent and hoped it would go up to 75 per cent this time.

“I will certainly win the elections by a huge margin,” he said.

In Nagpur, there is a direct fight between Gadkari and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre. The high-profile constituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, has 22,18,259 voters – 11,10, 840 male, 11,07,197 female and 222 transgender persons.