NAGPUR: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday cast his vote in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections and expressed confidence that the BJP will win with record margins in the civic polls across Maharashtra.
Voting was underway on Thursday for 29 municipal corporations in the state, including Nagpur.
Gadkari and his family members cast their votes at New English School in the Mahal area here.
He said the people have elected the BJP thrice in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) polls and gave it an opportunity to work for development.
"We have fought this election again on the basis of the work done by us, and we will certainly perform better, as we did in the last elections. We will certainly win with a record-breaking margin," he said, responding to a query from reporters.
Gadkari appealed to the people to exercise their franchise, noting it is their fundamental right.
To a query on the lower voting percentage in the last NMC elections, Gadkari said it is true that there had been problems of names in the voters' list.
He said the voters' list should be properly organised to ensure no one is left out of voting, adding that he was confident the Election Commission would take appropriate steps to address the issue.
On the alleged attack on BJP's ward no. 11 candidate Bhushan Shingne on Wednesday night, Gadkari termed it as unfortunate and said he will visit the nominee's house on Thursday.
Gadkari further said that while there may be differences in ideology during elections, Maharashtra and Nagpur have a tradition of maintaining cordial relationships among all parties once the polls are over.
"I feel it is a very unfortunate incident that could have been avoided, and (I am confident) the police will take strict action against the perpetrators. According to available information, there was an attempt to kill him, which is extremely wrong," he added.
Shingne went to the Gorewada area on Wednesday after he came to know that some anti-social elements were trying to vitiate the atmosphere and distribute money, BJP city chief Dayashankar Tiwari told reporters.
But when Shingne reached the spot, he was allegedly attacked by a group of more than 100 persons and suffered injuries, he said. Based on a complaint, a case has been registered against one person and others, who are yet to be identified, a senior police official said. PTI CLS