Mumbai: Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari fainted on stage Saturday evening during an election rally near Shirdi in Maharashtra.

The minister, who was in the holy town to campaign for Shiv Sena candidate Sadashiv Lokhande, had to curtail his speech midway and leave the venue.

This was the second time in past five months that Mr Gadkari, 61, suffered health issues in public.

Mr Gadkari was feeling unwell and was exhausted soon after he started his speech. He had cut his speech short and while walking back to his seat, he fainted.

Mr Gadkari’s security guard, BJP’s Ahmednagar candidate Sujay Vikhe-Patil, state minister Ram Shinde immediately rushed to help him. Within a few minutes he recovered and waved at the crowd to indicate that he was fine. Soon after that he left the venue. Later in the evening, he visited the famous Saibaba temple in Shirdi. A local BJP leader said he underwent a medical check up before leaving.

This is the second time in past 5 months that transport minister fainted on the stage.

In December last year, the senior BJP leader had fainted on stage while attending a function in the state’s Ahmednagar district.

As the National Anthem was being played, the minister fell ill and was about to fall on the ground but was caught by Maharashtra Governor C.H. Vidyasagar Rao, who was standing next to him. Mr Gadkari later attributed it to low sugar levels. The BJP leader is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Nagpur in 17th LS polls.

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