Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], June 5 (ANI): Thanking the voters of Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency for giving him the mandate to represent them in the parliament for the third time, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that he would give priority to making Nagpur a pollution-free city and welfare of the farmers.
"The public of Nagpur has chosen me for the third time, I would like to thank them for their support. I would also like to thank my party workers and members for their support," Gadkari told reporters.
"I will work to make Nagpur India's cleanest and pollution-free city. Increasing the job opportunities for the youth and the welfare of the farmers are my other priorities," he added.
Gadkari on Tuesday won the constituency defeating his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 1,37, 603 votes.
He polled 6,55,027 votes against 5,17,424 votes received by Congress' Vikas Thakre in 20 rounds of counting.
BSP candidate Yogesh Lanjewar came third with 19,242 votes, while 5,474 votes went to NOTA.
However, Gadkari's winning margin went down by 78,397 in this election. In 2019, he had defeated Congress' Nana Patole by 2,16,000 votes.
The BJP leader first contested from the constituency in 2014 when he won by 2,84,828 votes.
Nagpur constituency went to polls in the first phase on April 19.
However, the BJP-led NDA's tally was reduced this time compared to the 2019 election. INDIA bloc won 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra while NDA won 16 seats.
In 2019, the BJP and the Shiv Sena were in an alliance. Together, they won 41 out of 48 seats.
The final count for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections has concluded, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 240 seats, far fewer than had been expected, however, prevailing over the Opposition, Congress, which won 99 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition - JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP's chief Chandrababu Naidu, falling 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark - a stunning blow for the PM, who had hoped for a landslide victory '400 paar'. (ANI)
