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

After casting his vote, the minister told reporters that he was happy to see people coming out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

"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. Appealing voters to ensure a big turnout, Gadkari expressed hope of winning the seat with an even better margin this time than in 2014.

"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.

Gadkari's main rival in the seat is Congress' Nana Patole, a former BJP MP. Earlier in the morning, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and
its general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi were among the early ones to cast their votes in Nagpur.

Besides, 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.