Amit Shah begins two-day visit to poll-bound Assam, several opposition MLAs likely to join BJP

During his visit to poll-bound Assam, Shah will meet newly elected members of the state party core committee and the ruling coalition of the Bodoland Territorial Council, Sarma. He will also flag off several government schemes.

GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Guwahati on Friday (December 25) night, North East Democratic Alliance convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma said. "Reached Guwahati! I wholeheartedly thank the people of Assam for such a warm welcome," Shah said in a tweet today.

During his visit to poll-bound Assam, the senior BJP leader will meet the newly elected members of the state party core committee and the ruling coalition of the Bodoland Territorial Council, Sarma, the state finance minister told reporters.

A 23-member delegation of the United Peoples Party Liberal-BJP-Gana Suraksha Party combine will also meet him to discuss various issues, Sarma said. Delegations of the BJP's ruling alliance partner, Asom Gana Parishad and the Joint Coordination Committee of the Rabhas and representatives of the Gana Shakti Party are also scheduled to meet the Union Home Minister, Sarma said.

Amit Shah to flag-off several govt schemes in Assam

Amit Shah's official programme in Assam includes laying the foundation stone of the Rs 186 crore beautification programme of the birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava in central Assam.

Sarma said that the land surrounding the 'sattra' (Vaishnav monastery) has been freed of encroachers and the state government wants to develop it on the lines of Amritsar's Golden Temple.

The Union Home Minister will lay the foundation stone of one of the country's largest medical college and hospital to be set up at a cost of Rs 860 crore in Guwahati by amalgamating the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and the Kalapahar COVID Care Hospital, he said. The two hospitals will be connected by three new flyovers.

Shah will do the same for 11 law colleges in different parts of the state and inaugurate the third phase of the 'Asom Darshan' scheme to protect the places of worships of different faiths, Sarma said.

In the third phase 8000 'naamghars' (Vaishnav prayer and community halls) will be given Rs 2.5 lakh each. All the official programmes will be held centrally at Amingaon Parade Ground.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and senior officials of the state government are scheduled to meet him to discuss various issues concerning the state.

Opposition MLAs likely to join BJP:

On December 25, Congress President Sonia Gandhi expelled Assam MLA Ajanta Neog for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Her expulsion from the party comes amid reports that former Assam Public Works Department minister Neog plans to join the ruling BJP during the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. If Neog joins the BJP, it will be a major setback for the Congress in Assam.

Before the 2016 assembly elections in the state, senior Congress leader and former Minister in the Tarun Gogoi government Himanta Biswa Sarma had also joined the BJP along with several of his party colleagues.

Amit Shah to offer prayers at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati on Sunday

On Sunday morning, Amit Shah will offer prayers at the Kamakhya Temple here and leave for Manipur where he is scheduled to launch various schemes and meet members of the civil society. He will return to New Delhi on Sunday evening, Sarma added.