LS polls: HM Amit Shah to campaign in Gujarat today for Ahmedabad East seat

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday will campaign in Gujarat’s Naroda in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in the state for the crucial Ahmedabad East Parliamentary constituency.

Home Minister Shah will campaign for the incumbent BJP candidate from the Ahmedabad East seat, Hasmukh Patel, at a public meeting in Naroda at 7 p.m.

Hasmukh Patel is pitted against Congress candidate Himmatsinh Patel, the 58-year-old MLA from Bapunagar.

Having secured a victory from his constituency in the 2017 Assembly elections, Himmatsinh brings a mix of legislative experience and a keen understanding of regional issues.

However, his candidacy is not without controversy, given his two criminal records and a financial liability totaling Rs 19,01,006.

Earlier, Rohan Gupta was the Congress candidate from the Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat, but he quit the party and recently joined the BJP.

Gupta, the former Congress National Spokesperson and a part of Congress’ IT Cell, withdrew from the electoral race shortly after his candidacy was confirmed on March 12. He quit the Congress on March 19.

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw a voter turnout of 61.76 per cent in Ahmedabad East constituency, with Hasmukh Patel securing a poll victory with a margin of 4,34,330 votes over Congress candidate Geeta Patel.