Amritsar, March 18 (IANS) BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s arrival here Tuesday started literally with a ‘bang’ when gas-filled balloons put up for his welcome caught fire from exploding firecrackers.

Jaitley and other party leaders suffered minor burn injuries as the balloons went off at the Novelty Chowk when his procession reached there.

Jaitley, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in place of the outgoing Navjot Singh Sidhu, was given a warm welcome by BJP and Akali Dal leaders.

Punjab cabinet ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Anil Joshi and Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma accompanied Jaitley in an open truck as he went to the Golden Temple to offer prayers.

Amritsar’s BJP MP and cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu was conspicuous by his absence during Jaitley’s roadshow.

A former union law minister, Jaitley is leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.