Tamil Nadu Prime Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Senior Deputy Minister O Panneerselvam and senior cabinet colleagues were at the airport to greet Amit Shah.
AIADMK cadres and officials and BJP workers gathered at Chennai airport to receive the Union minister.
In a surprise move, the Union Interior Minister got out of his vehicle and walked down the road to greet the supporters who had gathered at the airport. He waved his hands at the BJP and AIADMK cadres that were lined up along the road outside the airport.
The Union Interior Minister took to Twitter to thank the city for its love and support.
“It’s always great to be in Tamil Nadu. Thank you Chennai for this love and support,” he said in a tweet.
It is always great to be in Tamil Nadu. Thank you Chennai for this love and support. https://t.co/pxl5EaZ6on
– Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 1605949758000
Thank you Tamil Nadu! Some more photos from Chennai. https://t.co/FaUNxAQft5
– Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 1605951968000
Later in the day, Shah went on to dedicate a new water reservoir to the people that will serve the needs of Chennai residents, as well as lay the foundation for various other projects, the Tamil Nadu government said.
The new reservoir built with an outlay of Rs 380 million will be dedicated to a function in Kalaivanar Arangam here, chaired by the prime minister.
In addition to inaugurating several projects, Amit Shah is also scheduled to meet Tamil Nadu BJP officials and cadres to push them forward before the 2021 assembly elections.
The head of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, L Murugan, had previously claimed that Shah’s visit will strike fear in the minds of opposition parties.
The visit comes amid the alleged break between the BJP and the ruling AIADMK over the ‘Vel Yatra‘. The AIADMK government has denied permission for the yatra to qualify the measure as “vote bank policy based on religion.” But the BJP has gone ahead with the program, seeking arrests wherever they have been detained.
Meanwhile, in another development, suspended DMK member and former Member of Parliament KP Ramalingam joined the BJP in Chennai.
“I joined the BJP today, I will dedicate my life to the development of the party,” Ramalingam said.
Ramalingam said he will try to convince MK Alagiri, brother of DMK boss MK Stalin, to join the BJP.
“I have close relations with MK Alagiri (brother of DMK chief MK Stalin). I will try to bring him to the Bharatiya Janta Party,” he added.
(With inputs from the agencies)
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