Tea-vendor to file nomination for Narendra Modi in Vadodara today

, April 9:

's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will file his nomination papers from here in central

. Vadodara, along with the rest of Gujarat, will go to the polls on April 30.

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Sources in the BJP said a local tea-vendor will file the nomination papers on the behalf of Modi, who himself had sold tea at the railway station in his childhood days. Political observers feel it a ploy of the BJP to catch the pulse of the aam aadmi. State minister Saurabh Patel said a tea-seller named Kiran Mahida has been nominated to sign Modi's papers. When asked, the elated tea-seller who is a BJP supporter said he felt proud that Modi and BJP gave such a big honour to a small person like him.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which fielded candidates from all but the Vadodara seat for the ongoing Lok Sabha election, fielded Digambar Kulkarni against Modi from this seat on Tuesday.

Modi is also scheduled to hold a roadshow in Vadodara on Wednesday, which is the last date for filing nominations from Gujarat.

Narendra Modi is contesting from Vadodara and Varanasi in this LS poll

The Congress has fielded Madhusudan Mistry, a close aide of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, against Modi. It had fielded a local leader Narendra Rawat initially but replaced him after he allegedly urged the party leadership to field a heavier candidate. Though some other quarters criticised the Congress, accusing it of changing a candidate who was chosen in a primary, a system which Rahul Gandhi himself has started in his party to encourage internal democracy.

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