Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Maninagar constituency in Ahmedabad, which elected him to the state assembly in the 2002 polls.
"This election in Gujarat is different from those held earlier. Normally it is the political parties or the media which sets the agenda. However, in Gujarat the agenda for the elections would be set by its 5.5 crore people and not by any political party or the media," Modi told reporters after filing his papers at about noon at a polytechnic in Ahmedabad.
Union Minister Dinsha Patel also filed his nomination papers as a Congress candidate from the assembly constituency to take on Modi.
Modi, who sported a short orange colour kurta, said, "People of the state want development and I will ensure that Gujarat achieves the level of development that is seen in developed countries."
A confident-looking Modi said, "In 2002 when I fought the elections, not many people were acquainted with me or my work. But now the people have seen my work and have no doubts about me."
The chief minister said, "In a democracy elections are a festival. We all are now celebrating the festival of democracy. The Bharatiya Janata Party while asking the people to vote for it, will try to reach out to them. The BJP will familiarise the people with its style of functioning and ask them to support it in the elections."
Modi was accompanied by state unit BJP president Purshottam Rupala and party Member of Parliament Harin Pathak.