Rekha Patra ‘The Sandeshkhali Survivor’: BJP Candidate From Basirhat (image-facebook/Rekha Patra)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Rekha Patra, a survivor of the West Bengal Sandeshkhali case as their candidate from the Basirhat constituency. Rekha Patra is a resident of Sandeshkhali. She was one of the first to raise the voice of the Sandeshkhali women which led to the arrest of the TMC leaders MLA Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar. 

Rekha Patra is one of the few BJP candidates who received the call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi after receiving candidature. She was titled ‘Shakti Swaroopa’ by the Prime Minister, highlighting her fight against the accused in Sandeshkhali. “There are very few people, who consider everyone, even those who have done them wrong. You have a very big heart. The country will take pride in you,” the Prime Minister said, adding that she has set a remarkable example for the women in the country.  He also conveyed best wishes to Rekha during the telephone conversation. 

She was not only the first woman to register the complaint but also the first one to give an in-camera statement to the magistrate.

Rekha is the wife of an immigrant worker in Tamil Nadu. She has earlier worked to create job opportunities in Bengal and has also contributed to putting brakes on population migration in search of work. However, BJP has fielded Rekha as their candidate as the saffron party aims to grab assurance of women’s safety from the wings of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be chosen for this task. If I get elected, I would do all that is required to ensure that women of Basirhat do not suffer the trauma we underwent in Sandeshkhali,” the political greenhorn said while speaking to the reporters. “I will also ensure that farmlands, forcefully snatched away from our brothers, are returned to them so that they can cultivate their land according to their choice,” she added.