BJP’s national president Amit Shah is said to have quit a party rally midway in Kerala’s Kannur yesterday as he felt disappointed with the low turn-out.

A week-long rally is being organized by the BJP in association with its parent body RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevam Sangh).  Uttar Pradesh chief-minister Yogi Adiyanath has been invited as a ‘special invitee’ to take part in the rally which has been planned in a huge manner but which has been marred by the quitting of Shah.

Sources close to the BJP’s central leadership conceded that Shah’s exit might have been prompted by the low turn-out of cadres.  The rally’s showing comes as a huge shock to the BJP which had been trying very hard to make inroads in the State’s political arena.  Putting up a brave face, another source said that Shah had to ‘rush’ to New Delhi to attend to an important work and would soon be returning to Kerala.

It is also said that the Prime Minister had asked Shah to be present at the rally to assess the party’s strength and recommend steps to be taken to strengthen the party at the grassroots level in the State.  Shah later attended a consultation meeting with the Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Earlier, Kerala chief-minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed Amit Shah as a ‘bomb which would never explode’.  He also added that all those belonging to the BJP and RSS in Kerala were like bombs which would never become alive.