Gandhinagar: BJP president Amit Shah filed his nomination from the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency in Gujarat on Saturday. It will be for the first time that Shah shall be contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Shah is replacing BJP veteran L K Advani, who had been winning uninterrupted from Gandhinagar since 1998, from the prestigious constituency.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and leaders of BJP's allies such as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan werepresent during party president Amit Shah's filing of nomination from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat on Saturday.

The presence of the top BJP-led NDA brass at the event is being seen by observers as a show of support for Shah and an acknowledgement of him being the second most powerful leader in the alliance after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Leaders of BJP's allies and Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari,  accompanied Shah during filing of his nomination papers.

Earlier in the day Shah addressed a public meeting at Sardar Patel Chowk in Ahmadabad before heading to Gandhinagar in his car to file his nomination papers.

"Shah would also address people before starting his road-show in the presence of our two union ministers and NDA leaders Badal and Thackeray. Shah may land in Gujarat tonight and the road-show would begin at 9 am tomorrow," Vaghani said.

Shah, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, has been nominated by the BJP for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

Last date for filing nominations is April 4. Polling for all the 26 seats of Gujarat will take place on April 23.