The Union Home Ministry granted X-category security to Rekha Patra, who survived the Sandeshkhali violence and is now a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in Basirhat. According to media reports, the security detail will be provided by commandos of the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF).
The voting for Basirhat is scheduled for June 1, marking the final phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Rekha Patra will be competing against Trinamool Congress's Haji Nurul Islam. Islam was nominated after the incumbent MP, Bengali actor Nusrat Jahan, was replaced.
Five BJP leaders get security cover in Bengal
Additionally, the Home Ministry has extended security to five other BJP leaders in West Bengal. Pranat Tudu, BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Jhargram, and Nirmal Saha, the party's candidate from Nirmal Saha, have also been granted X-category security. Kartik Paul, BJP's candidate from Raiganj, has been allocated Y-category security.
Ashok Kandari and Ashok Purkait, BJP candidates from Jainagar and Mathurapur, respectively, have been granted X-category security following Intelligence Bureau (IB) reports highlighting potential threats to their safety. This security provision comes in the wake of an assault incident involving a local BJP leader in Kolkata, allegedly carried out by individuals associated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The leader suffered head injuries during the altercation, which occurred on Saturday night, April 27.
Rekha Patra on her candidature
Earlier, Sandeshkhali survivor Rekha Patra vowed to fulfil her responsibility BJP named her as the candidate from Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given this responsibility to a poor woman. I will carry out the responsibility with all honesty. Atrocities are going on against women in Sandeshkhali. We will contest and I will make an effort to ensure that their fight goes ahead," she had stated.
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