Bhubaneswar: BJP president Amit Shah was accorded an enthusiastic welcome by his partymen here today and offered two lotus garlands - one with 21 flowers apparently representing the Lok Sabha seats in the state and another with 147 blooms marking the assembly seats.
Shah arrived to attend the BJP national executive beginning tomorrow and was offered the larger lotus garland by state party president Basant Panda and the other by union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Asked, party insiders said that the garlands represented the number of Lok Sabha (21) seats and assembly seats (147) in Odisha.
"The state leadership in a manner requested Shah to help it in winning all the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats in the state," said a senior leader.
Incidently, the BJP has only one Lok Sabha seat out the total 21 in the state and 10 out of the 147 assembly seats.
Shah reached Biju Patnaik International Airport here at around 1.30 pm and was warmly received by several BJP leaders.
Shah is scheduled to join Odia new year celebration programme at BJP state headquarters this evening, party sources said.