Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) The nomination of Rekha Patra, BJP’s face against TMC’s alleged atrocities in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district two years ago, from the adjacent constituency of Hingalganj in Sunderbans delta for the assembly polls, signified the saffron camp’s continued focus on the issue of women’s safety in the state, party leaders said.
Patra was among 113 candidates named by the BJP in its second list for the state on Thursday and will take on Trinamool’s nominee Ananda Sarkar as her primary opponent.
A Sandeshkhali housewife, Patra emerged as one of the BJP’s most politically symbolic candidates in the 2024 general elections, representing the party’s attempt to foreground grassroots grievances and allegations of atrocities against women in rural Bengal.
She was among the main faces of protests against suspended TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides, with the BJP projecting her as a victim who turned into a voice of resistance against what it described as local-level misgovernance.
The announcement of Patra’s nomination was made on a day the Calcutta High Court turned down the bail plea of Shahjahan, who is also the principal accused in the case of orchestrating the assault on Enforcement Directorate officials in Sandeshkhali in January 2024.
A seat reserved for the Scheduled Caste community members, the Hingalganj seat bordering Sandeshkhali, comprises parts of Sandeshkhali II community development block.
Seeking to convert the Sandeshkhali protests into a wider political narrative, the BJP fielded Patra as its candidate from Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency in 2024.
The party mounted an aggressive campaign around the issue, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally calling Patra and describing her as “Shakti Swaroopa”, or the embodiment of feminine strength.
Patra lost the polls from Basirhat, a Trinamool fortress, by a formidable margin of over 3.33 lakh votes, to TMC’s Haji Nurul Islam, now deceased.
The BJP, though, took heart from the fact that she managed to secure a lead over Islam in Sandeshkhali assembly seat, one of the seven assembly constituencies that make up the Basirhat Lok Sabha area.
Despite the defeat, Patra’s repeat nomination signifies that she continues to remain a politically significant figure for the BJP as it seeks to keep the Sandeshkhali issue alive in Bengal’s political discourse and push the TMC to a tight electoral corner by jogging memories of atrocities allegedly committed by the party’s strongmen in the region.
As the state heads towards the assembly elections, Patra’s continued presence in the political arena is likely to serve as a reminder of the BJP’s attempt to frame grassroots protests as a broader challenge to the ruling TMC’s governance.
Meanwhile, the bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh, rejected Shahjahan’s bail petition on Thursday, stating that “sufficient incriminating material has transpired’ in the course of investigation, which primarily suggests (his) leading role in the alleged offence.” The court observed that the statement of witnesses suggests that Shahjahan is an “extremely influential person in the locality” and is “dreaded by one and all”.
The court added that in the event of release on bail in the current stage of investigation, “the possibility of tampering of evidence and intimidating witnesses cannot be ruled out”.
The case, currently being investigated by the CBI, deals with an incident in January 2024, when ED officials, accompanied by Central Armed Police Forces personnel, were allegedly attacked by Shahjahan’s supporters during a raid at his residence. The operation was linked to a probe into an alleged multi-crore ration distribution system scam in the state. PTI SMY MNB
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