Guwahati, Aug 28 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Thursday evening to a warm reception by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and senior leaders of the Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

HM Shah, who landed at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, will be in the state for two days during which he is scheduled to chair the BJP Assam unit’s core committee meeting and participate in a series of organisational and government-related programmes.

Taking to social media, Chief Minister Sarma wrote on X: “Honoured to welcome Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji at Guwahati Airport. Adarniya Amit Shah ji will soon chair the Core Committee meeting of @BJP4Assam and take part in various programmes tomorrow. We look forward to his leadership and counsel.”

CM Sarma earlier told reporters: “HM Shah will discuss preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections, which are very important for the party. He takes a keen interest in state polls.”

For Friday, HM Shah’s schedule includes the inauguration of the newly constructed Brahmaputra wing of the Raj Bhavan.

This will be followed by the e-inauguration of the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory and the e-inauguration-cum-foundation laying of multiple development projects for the ITBP, SSB and Assam Rifles.

Later in the afternoon, HM Shah will attend a convention of newly elected NDA panchayat members at the ‘Panchayat Sanmilan’.

In the evening, he will inaugurate the birth centenary celebrations of Golap Borbora, Assam’s first non-Congress Chief Minister, before departing for Delhi.

“The visit of the Union Minister is very important for us politically, but all the other events are equally important,” CM Sarma said.

HM Shah was initially scheduled to visit the state for a day on August 29, but the programme was revised to a two-day tour.

Earlier, Chief Minister Sarma also announced that due to the Vice President election scheduled for September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Assam on September 8 has been rescheduled.

Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Assam, related to the year-long celebrations marking Bhupen Hazarika’s birth centenary, has been postponed to September 13-14.

–IANS

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