BJP president Amit Shah cancelled his visit to Dharmanagar in North Tripura district, where he was scheduled to address a public rally on Thursday.

Dharmanagar is around 180km from here.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Thursday, BJP Yuva Morcha president Tinku Roy said Shah was unable to make it on time as he had to spend extra time at two rallies in Bengal.

“Around 40,000 supporters had already gathered at the ground to listen to Shah’s speech. He was supposed to arrive at 3.50pm but because of shortage of time he could not be here,” Roy said.

He said Shah addressed the gathering through a phone call wherein he let everyone know about his inability to reach Dharmanagar.

“He was supposed to arrive here by helicopter but the helipad is inoperative in the evening. The supporters were happy that he called and addressed the gathering over phone,” Roy said.

Shah was slated to campaign for East Tripura candidate Rebati Mohan Tripura. Party leaders had made elaborate arrangements for the rally. Shah had last visited Agartala to address a rally for the Lok Sabha elections on January 5.

East Tripura constituency will go to the polls on April 18.