Lok Sabha polls: Sandeshkhali survivor and BJP candidate Rekha Patra to take on TMC, CPM in Basirhat

The BJP has chosen Rekha Patra, who led the protests against suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as the party's candidate. She is pitted against TMC's Haji Nurul Islam and CPIM's Nirapada Sardar.

The Lok Sabha elections in Basirhat, one of West Bengal's 42 constituencies, is set to witness a three-way battle between the TMC, BJP, and CPM. The constituency comprises seven Vidhan Sabha seats, including Baduria, Haroa, Minakhan, Sandeshkhali, Basirhat Dakshin, Basirhat Uttar, and Hingalganj, covering the entire North 24 Parganas district.

The BJP has chosen Rekha Patra, who led the protests against suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as the party's candidate. She is pitted against TMC's Haji Nurul Islam and CPIM's Nirapada Sardar. The TMC has fielded Haji Nurul Islam replacing the incumbent MP and party leader, Nusrat Jahan. Notably, Haji Nurul Islam won from the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Earlier this year, Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district made headlines when villagers, predominantly women, protested against the ruling TMC and TMC leader Shahjahan. They accused him and his associates of committing atrocities and seizing their land. Several women of Sandeshkhali have alleged "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion by Shajahan and his aides. Following this, the TMC suspended Shahjahan, the main accused in Sandeshkhali, from the party for six years. He is currently in jail in relation to an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team during a raid at his home linked to a ration scam.

The TMC has been the dominant party in this seat, winning three consecutive Lok Sabha elections since 2009. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, TMC's Nusrat Jahan Ruhi won the seat, defeating BJP's Sayantan Basu.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, TMC's Idris Ali won the seat with a vote share of 38.7 per cent, while CPI candidate Nurul Huda received 30 per cent of the votes. Polling in Basirhat along with Barasat, Diamond Harbour, Dum Dum, Jaynagar, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar and Mathurapur will be held in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election on June 1.

The vote counting will take place on June 4. (ANI)

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