Home Minister Amit Shah's flight diverted to Guwahati due to thick fog in Agartala

Digital Desk: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s flight could not land at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala on Wednesday night due to poor visibility due to dense fog, according to officials. According to ATC authorities, the flight was rerouted to Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, where it finally landed.

Shah was slated to arrive in Agartala on Wednesday evening and launch two rath yatras the next day in the northeastern state, where assembly elections are set for early this year.

Superintendent of Police (SP), West Tripura, Sankar Debnath informed PTI that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was supposed to arrive at the MBB Airport on Wednesday at 10 pm but was unable to do so because of poor visibility due to thick fog, as reported by ATC, Agartala. He stated that he would spend the night in Guwahati after the airplane, which was headed for the MBB Airport, had landed there.

Shah was scheduled to arrive in Agartala on Thursday at 11 a.m. to launch rath yatras from Sabroom subdivision in South Tripura district and Dharmanagar in North Tripura district, according to BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Chief Minister Manik Saha said, "The Jana Viswas Yatra will mark the party's campaign for the upcoming assembly elections and we are glad that the Union Home Minister would start both activities."

Before starting the yatra, Shah will travel to Dharmanagar where he would address a crowd. After that, he will go to Sabroom, where he will open a new rath yatra and speak to a crowd, according to Saha.

Shah will leave Tripura on Thursday night after the Sabroom programme and head back to Agartala, he said.

The Jana Viswas Yatra aims to highlight the accomplishments of the state government since 2018, he stated.

According to Bhattacharjee, the Jana Viswas Yatra will travel 1,000 kilometres and pass through all 60 of the state's assembly districts.

He added that the BJP president J P Nadda will join the rath yatra on the last day, adding that a total of 100 rallies and roadshows will be held during the yatra, which will end on January 12.

The rath yatras will include participation from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiran Rijiju, and Arjun Munda, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Member of the BJP National Executive Mithun Chakraborty, and MP Locket Chatterjee.