Guwahati, Aug. 10: Ripun Bora loyalists are doing everything they can to put up a grand “show of strength” outside the city airport tomorrow to demonstrate that the former education minister was still a “force to reckon with” in state politics.

Bora, who was released on bail by a special CBI court last week, is expected to reach Guwahati around noon.

The former minister was arrested by the CBI in June for trying to bribe one of its sleuths to hush up a murder case in which he was one of the suspects.

“Hundreds of people from his Gohpur constituency will be brought here to accord him a rousing welcome as he steps out of the Guwahati airport. We want to show that he is still a mass leader and the conspiracy against him failed to diminish his support base,” said one of his aides.

Since his release, Bora has maintained that he was a victim of political conspiracy, but did not name any one. Soon after his arrest though, he had threatened to expose the “conspirators” after his release.

The party, however, has put an unofficial gag on him, fearing that he might indict a few of his party colleagues as “conspirators” in his arrest by the CBI.

“There is no point making any public accusation. But he will definitely inform the party how he was victimised by few of his own colleagues,” the aide said.

Though it was unlikely that Bora would publicly make any accusations, he would name a few of his former ministerial colleagues as the conspirators in “appropriate party forum”, he added.

Bora is expected to meet chief minister Tarun Gogoi after he returns from Beijing. He is also expected to be given a hearing by the party soon.

Bora was suspended from the party without a show-cause after he was arrested for attempting to bribe the CBI officials.

Party leaders who sympathise with him believe that Bora’s side of the story should be heard now.