Rekha Patra, the BJP’s Basirhat candidate whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dubbed “Shakti Swaroopa” for standing up to atrocities by Trinamool Congress leaders in Sandeshkhali, today held her maiden roadshow which saw an outpouring of support for the young housewife.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, walked four kilometres at the head of a massive procession from Moitri Bagan to Boatghat in Basirhat, while Patra, who was admitted to AIIMS-Kalyani on Wednesday evening and released early on Thursday after doctors treated her for dehydration and vomiting, greeted passers from an open jeep. Accompanying Adhikari were senior BJP leaders Subrata Thakur and Archana Majumdar.
“Do you know who selected this Shakti Swaroopa?” asked Suvendu Adhikari, as the crowd chanted Patra’s name. “This time there will be no loot but vote,” Adhikari assured supporters who claimed that they had not been able to exercise their franchise freely since 2011 due to the terror tactics adopted by Trinamool Congress leaders.
The rally was held on a day when the prime accused in the Sandeshkhali atrocities, Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, completed a month in custody.
“I am not the candidate from Basirhat. All of us brothers and sisters of Basirhat are candidates. I shall definitely stand by them,” said Rekha Patra, who looked visibly weak.
“This is for the first time in 10 years that we have been able to write our party graffiti on the walls of Sandeshkhali,” said Prakash Patra, a neighbour of Rekha Patra.