Advani to file nomination paper on Wednesday

NI Wire

New Delhi

Tue, 07 Apr 2009: 

The four-time winner from the Gandhinagar constituency, BJP leader and NDA’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani will file his nomination papers on Wednesday, seeking win for the fifth time in the Lok Sabha elections.

Advani would be accompanied by his entire family members while filing the nomition.

He won the seat in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004. The constituency along with the entire Gujarat State (26 Lok Sabha seat) would go to polls on April 30 in the third phase.

This time, however, situation is something different as the veteran saffron leader will face some new faces owing to delimitation last year that has changed the geography of the seat.

In 2004 parliamentary election, Advani defeated the rival Congress candidate Gabhaji Mangaji Thakor with a large margin.

This time, his opponent is danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, who is contesting as an Independent. Sarabhai has challenged Advani for an open debate, questioning his contributions to the State and his constituency. Advani himself has challenged PM Manmohan Singh for an open debate, a day after the latter released Congress manifesto and slammed the former.

After being rejected her suggestion by the BJP, Sarabhai put five questions and said she would raise five questions every Monday, every week to the BJP leader through the media.

Her five questions were: how many and what questions did Advani raise in the Lok Sabha about Gandhinagar in the last five years; why did you not speak against the violence and atrocities against women in Gujarat and specifically in Gandhinagar; what did you do towards creating educational and livelihood opportunities in the rural areas of Gandhinagar constituency; why did you not show any concern towards the local issues despite remaining an MP for the last 20 years; and how much fund did you use under MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) to benefit the deprived and underprivileged in your constituency.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (CPI) extended its support to Sarabhai, stating its party though would put up candidates in Buslar and Sabarkantha in Gandhinagar, it would support Sarabhai.

The BJP leader who revealed the party’s populist manifesto emphasising “Ram and Roti” on April 03, on Monday promised to make affordable health care for all citizens a fundamental right, if voted to power at the Centre.

Underscoring the need for a re-orientation of health care in India, Advani said NDA would revive the universal health insurance scheme launched by the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government with the Central Government bearing the expenses on medical insurance for all BPL families.