Lok Sabha polls: Narendra Modi enters fray, nomination process ends for 7th phase

NEW DELHI: BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and PDP leader Tariq Hamid Qarra were among a large number of hopefuls who entered the fray today as filing of nominations for the 7th round of the staggered Lok Sabha polls drew to close.

Formally launching a bid for his maiden entry into the Lok Sabha, 63-year-old Modi filed his papers for Vadodara seat in Gujarat after an impressive roadshow.

The BJP leader's cavalcade crawled its way through the busy thoroughfares of Vadodara as a sea of party workers, supporters and onlookers cheered him.

Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, who will cross swords with Modi, had entered the electoral race from Vadodara on April 5.

Racing against time, a large number of contenders today thronged offices of the Returning Officers to submit papers as the deadline for filing nominations for 89 seats up for grabs in the 7th round of the marathon Lok Sabha elections came to an end.

Chandrasekhar Rao, who is contesting both for Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assembly, filed his papers for Medak Parliamentary and Gajwel assembly seats in Telengana region.

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party leader Qarra filed his nomination for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir which will go to hustings on April 30.

Accompanied by PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the former Jammu and Kashmir Finance minister submitted his papers to the Returning Officer.

Altogether 11 candidates entered the race from the seat on the last day of filing papers.

Union minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has already entered the fray from the constituency.