PM Modi Meets Assam BJP Leaders, Reviews Poll Preparations At Party Headquarters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the Assam BJP headquarters in Guwahati and held a closed-door interaction with party leaders, focusing on preparations for next year’s Assembly elections and the functioning of the party organisation.

According to PTI, Modi spent nearly an hour at Vajpayee Bhawan in the city’s Basistha area, where he interacted with around 280 BJP leaders, including former state presidents, ex and sitting MPs, ministers and MLAs. The visit came as the BJP prepares to seek a third consecutive term in the Assam Assembly elections due early next year.

Modi reached the party headquarters in the evening after leading a 3.8-km-long roadshow from Sarusajai. State BJP president Dilip Saikia earlier told PTI that this was the first visit by a serving prime minister to the Assam BJP headquarters. The Vajpayee Bhawan was inaugurated in October 2022 by BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Leaders present at the meeting said the interaction was informal in nature. Veteran party leader and former state BJP president Narayan Borkotoky told reporters after the meeting that there was “no formality involved” and that Modi interacted as a party worker with fellow members. He said the Prime Minister spoke in detail about election preparations.

Another leader, who did not wish to be named, said Modi did not sit on the dais but sat among the leaders during the interaction. According to PTI, the Prime Minister discussed a range of issues, including how the party organisation was functioning, the progress of election preparations, and public perception of the state government’s performance. He also enquired about the well-being of senior leaders present at the meeting.

State BJP spokesperson Dewan Dhruba Jyoti Maral had earlier said that about 280 leaders were invited to the closed-door discussion, reported PTI.

Modi arrived in Guwahati earlier in the afternoon as part of a two-day visit to Assam. According to PTI, upon arrival he unveiled a statue of Assam’s first chief minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, inaugurated a new airport terminus, and addressed a public meeting.

(With inputs from PTI)