Nagpur:
It was a grand welcome for Nitin Gadkari, BJP's new national president, as he arrived in Nagpur on Sunday. Thousands of people were out on his hometown's streets to receive him.
Firecrackers, garlands, flowers and puja thalis coloured the Orange city in a different shade of orange and green, to welcome 52-year-old.
The huge crowds ensured that Gadkari took four hours to cover the 9 kms between the airport and his house, much longer than it took him to fly from Delhi to Nagpur.
Hundreds joined in the festival like 'rath' yatra. "The crowds here are spontaneous and have not been brought from somewhere, it just goes to show how popular he is here," said a supporter. Another added, "He is very popular and sincere. He played a key role in changing the face of Nagpur."
The new face of BJP's Generation Next was clearly overwhelmed. ''I had never imagined that I would occupy the same chair once occupied by the likes of Vajpayeeji and Advaniji," he said, addressing a gathering near his house three-storied house in central Nagpur.
But while this celebration may have dominated the better part of day for the new BJP president, the man of the moment has his task cut out for him.