Union minister Nitin Gadkari casts his vote in Nagpur

BJP candidate from Maharashtra's Nagpur Lok Sabha seat and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, casted his vote in Nagpur on Thursday. Gadkari reached the polling booth along with his family members, including wife and two sons at Town Hall in Mahal area, around 10 am.

The minister told the reporters that he was pleased to see individuals coming out in huge numbers to exercise their franchise, after casting his vote. "India is the biggest democracy in the world. The entire world is looking at us. I am very happy that people have come out in large numbers to vote," he said.

Gadkari conveyed his expectation of winning the seat with an even better margin this time than in 2014, thus appealing to the voters to ensure a big turnout. "I went to people with the development works done by the BJP-led government in these five years. People have supported me immensely. I feel that I will win with a better margin than the last election," he said.

Congress' Nana Patole, a former BJP MP, is Gadkari's main rival for the seat.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and its general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi were among the early ones to cast their votes in Nagpur, previously in the morning. Moreover, NCP leader Praful Patel and his family members cast their votes in Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha seat of the state.

Polling for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections began in the morning in the state's seven seats - Nagpur, Wardha, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondiya, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Yavatmal-Washim.

All these seats are located in the state's Vidarbha region.