Kolkata:

Handwritten posters have appeared in several places in Bengal’s Sandeshkari condemning the BJP Lok Sabha poll nominee Rekha Patra, who was allegedly arrested by the now-suspended Trinamool Victims of torture by leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides.

The BJP blamed the TMC for the posters, while the state’s ruling party denied the charge.

Ms. Patra, who has contested from Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, has not officially joined the BJP. Sandeshkari is a part of this constituency.

Today, a day after her nomination was announced from the seat, posters were spotted plastered with slogans – “We don’t want Rekha to be the candidate” and “We don’t want Rekha Patra to be the BJP candidate people”.

“These posters are not ours. The Trinamool Congress is doing this to indulge in cheap politics,” a local BJP leader said. The TMC, however, denied the allegation.

Some local women were delighted that Ms Patra had been nominated to run.

“In the past we didn’t see MPs. Now we might see MPs from our villages,” one said.

Ms Patra is one of Sandesh Khali’s most outspoken protesters. Police arrested her based on a complaint by Shibu Hazra, a local muscleman and associate of Shah Jahan Shaikh.

She is also believed to be part of a group that met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a public meeting in Barasat on March 6 and told him about the plight of these women.

“Let Mamata Banerjee wipe away the tears of women like her who are suffering in silence and She was treated with indifference until she asked for a vote.”

The riverside island of Sandeshkhali in the state’s North 24 Parganas district has been abuzz for days over accusations of sexual atrocities against women and land grabbing by Sheikh and his aides.

Sheikh was arrested by state police last month for allegedly assaulting an Enforcement Directorate officer on January 5. The CBI is currently investigating the case and Sheikh is currently in the custody of the central agency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)