Gadkari falls sick at event, sits down during national anthem
Solapur/Nagpur, Aug 1: In the latest health scare for Nitin Gadkari, the Union minister was on Thursday forced to sit down at a public event at Solapur in Maharashtra after feeling dizzy, his aide said.
The aide said doctors have attributed the "spell of dizziness" to a strong dose of antibiotics the minister took on Wednesday for a throat infection.
Later, after arriving in his hometown Nagpur, the 62- year-old BJP leader said he is "fine".
Gadkari felt dizzy while the national anthem was being played at the event, held at the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University, the aide said.
Gadkari was the guest of honour at the function.
Even as Gadkari was standing for the national anthem, he leaned towards his left a bit and sat down with the support of his security guards who were standing behind him, as per the video footage of the function.
Gadkari's aide told PTI that the minister felt "uneasy" and was later checked by a medical officer in Solapur.
"He was already feeling warm and felt uneasy due to the reaction of antibiotics he had taken. After the check-up, the doctor confirmed that his blood pressure and blood sugar level were normal," the aide said.
"He had some throat infection and he took a rather strong dose of antibiotics on Wednesday evening. The doctors told us that today's dizziness was caused by the dose," he said.
"Doctors have asked us not to worry about his health.
He will continue his tour," he said.
Later in the evening, Gadkari arrived at his residence in Nagpur.
Gadkari landed at the Nagpur airport at 6.45 pm.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was returning from Amravati after attending a rally organised as part of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's `Maha Janadesh Yatra' met Gadkari at the airport.
After coming out of the airport, Gadkari told waiting media persons that he is "fine".
This is not the first time the veteran BJP leader has fainted on stage during public events.
There have been a couple of incidents in the last several months where he fainted at public events, apparently due to low sugar levels.
In December last year, Gadkari had fainted during an event in Ahmednagar. He was about to fall down when Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao supported him, following which Gadkari was taken to hospital.
That incident happened during a convocation ceremony at the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University in Rahuri. The Union minister had addressed the gathering before the incident.
A few moments later, when the national anthem was being played, he fainted while trying to stand up.
In April this year, Gadkari fainted on stage while addressing an election rally near the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.
He had fainted while walking towards his seat on the dais during the rally held at Rahata for Shiv Sena candidate Sadashiv Lokhande.
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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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