Lok Sabha Elections: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari fainted while speaking at an election rally in Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Tuesday. He received prompt treatment and got back on stage to resume his speech. A video of the incident showed Gadkari being carried away from the stage by the people around him, many of whom rushed to form a shield around the Union Minister to ensure privacy.
Following the incident, the BJP leader took to X and gave an update on his health. Gadkari said that he felt uncomfortable due to heat but is completely fine now. "I felt uncomfortable due to the heat during the rally in Pusad, Maharashtra. But now I am completely healthy and am leaving for Varud to attend the next meeting. Thank you for your love and good wishes," Gadkari said.
Nitin Gadkari was campaigning for Rajashree Patil, who is from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction and is set to fight polls from Yavatmal. Gadkari fought the first phase of the Lok Sabha election as the candidate from Maharashtra’s Nagpur, a seat he won in 2014 and 2019.
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This is, however, not the first instance when Nitin Gadkari felt uneasy during a rally or any public program. In 2022, Nitin Gadkari fell ill during a visit to North Bengal. He felt sick after coming down from the stage. A doctor was brought to him through the green corridor.
In 2019, Gadkari was forced to sit down at a public event in Solapur after he felt dizzy, according to his aide. 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. The BJP leader felt dizzy while the national anthem was being played at the event, held at the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University.
In 2018, Nitin Gadkari fainted during a public event in Maharashtra due to “suffocation" from convocation robes. Gadkari was at the convocation of an agricultural university in Ahmednagar district, on his feet for the national anthem, when he fainted on stage.