Gujarat civic polls: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani casts vote in Rajkot hours after testing negative for COVID-19

On Sunday, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani cast his vote in the local body polls hours after testing negative for COVID-19 and being discharged from the hospital, according to several media reports.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his wife cast their votes at a polling centre in Rajkot in the municipal corporation election. https://t.co/auWVRHDyUT pic.twitter.com/Tmfw5f0Yxj

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2021

  The Times of India reported that he cast his vote in Rajkot. Follow all LIVE updates on the Gujarat civic polls here Earlier on Sunday, the Chief Minister’s Office announced that he had tested negative for coronavirus. The chief minister “tested negative for COVID-19 in the RT-PCR test done today”, the statement read. Rupani, 64, tested positive for the viral infection on 15 February, a day after he fainted on a stage during campaigning for civic polls in Vadodara. He was later seen descending the stairs of the stage on his own. He was then flown in a helicopter from Vadodara to Ahmedabad, where he had been undergoing treatment at the UN Mehta Heart Hospital in Ahmedabad. That was Rupani’s third political rally during the day in Vadodara. “Rupani fainted on stage and I gave him a primary medical treatment. He was fine and walked back to his car from the stage,” said Vadodara city BJP president Dr Vijay Shah, who was present on the dais at the time of the incident. BJP leader Bharat Danger told reporters that the chief minister collapsed while addressing the public meeting in Nizampura area. “Rupani’s security guards caught hold of him when he fell. He was given first aid and was taken to the airport (from where he flew to Ahmedabad),” he said. “Rupani was unwell for the last two days, but instead of cancelling his public meetings held in Jamnagar on Saturday and in Vadodara on Sunday, he preferred to continue,” Danger said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week enquired about Rupani’s health over phone. Modi told Rupani to get himself thoroughly checked and to take proper rest. With inputs from PTI