BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who arrived here on Friday to attend the national executive meeting, predicted that a non-Congress government will replace the ruling Congress government but no party in the state will be able to form the government without the support of the BJP.
Immediately after his arrival at Guwahati airport, Mr Gadkari said, “The next government in Assam will be a non-Congress government and without the support of the BJP, nobody can form the government.”
The BJP chief, who was accorded a grand welcome by BJP workers, said that rampant corruption and price rise will be the focus of the national executive.
Meanwhile, senior party leaders have expressed deep regret over the decision of the Assam government not to provide him security escorts.
The organisational secretary of Northeast BJP, P. Chandrashekhar said, “It was really shocking to find no security escort for our party president on his arrival at the Guwahati airport. We had informed the authorities in advance about the travel programme of the BJP leaders.”
Mr Gadkari and at least 20 other leaders were escorted by party workers and supporters from the airport to a city hotel for a meeting of all the BJP state presidents and organising secretaries of the party. Soon after Mr Gadkari and other leaders reached the hotel, hundreds of angry BJP supporters staged a protest by squatting on a main road of the city, causing a massive traffic jam.
The protesters later dispersed shouting anti-Congress slogans.
Senior party leaders and chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states are expected to start coming from Saturday as the party has hired chartered flight to bring senior party leaders from new delhi to Guwahati, party sources said.