In his first visit after getting party nomination from Amritsar, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday was accorded warm welcome upon reaching the holy city. Top regional leaders of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the local BJP were present when Jaitley arrived here this afternoon.
However, three-time sitting MP from, Navjot Singh Sidhu, gave it a miss. The party had ignored him due to strong opposition by local BJP and SAD units. On Saturday, when BJP had announced Arun Jaitley’s candidature from Amritsar, Sidhu had said that Jaitley was his “guru”. Sidhu has been vocal against the Akali leadership in the past and had even accused them of scuttling his pet projects in the constituency.
Jaitley was received at Amritsar Rajasansi Airport by Youth Akali Dal president and Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Majithia along with his party workers, MlAs and BJP local leadership including Punjab Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. On the way from airport to Golden Temple, where the BJP leader was to pay obeisance, Jaitley was accorded warm welcome, as the party activists showered rose petals on his long cavalcade which was moving under the tight security.
There was heavy rush of SAD and BJP workers and other supporters on the roads right from the airport to Golden Temple. Arun Jaitley’s cavalcade included buses, cars, Jeeps and numerous security vehicles of police.