Rekha Patra, the Basirhat candidate of the BJP and the face of the Sandeshkhali resistance, broke down while delivering her maiden speech in a political rally of over 6,000 people on Friday.

“I lost my words. Will you all support me?” Patra urged with tearing eyes as the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, handed over the microphone to the 28-year-old homemaker on a ground near the Basirhat Court on Friday.

Tears flowed down her face as soon as thousands replied in chorus, saying: “Yes, we are with you.”

On Friday, Patra, along with Adhikari, marched around 4km from Maitrabagan to the Boardghat area of Basirhat as part of her first outdoor campaign.

Although she launched her first campaign from her home turf, Sandeshkhali, by meeting some of her co-fighters on Wednesday, it was her first public meeting on Friday.

The Sandeshkhali woman, who is the wife of a migrant worker, said that she was very happy to witness so many people gathered in support of her before assuring them to be with the people of Basirhat with her optimum might.

“I don't know how to thank you. But I am delighted to be here today. I want your support so I can ensure we save our mothers and sisters from humiliation. If you are with me, then I can be with those women who faced atrocities. I, as your younger sister, vowed to stand by you in your need,” she added ending her very little speech and breaking down in the arms of a woman BJP leader on the dais.

Patra, who was among the first to lodge a complaint against arrested Trinamul strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides, became an important face in Bengal politics as soon as the BJP announced her name as the party's Basirhat candidate on March 24.

A BJP leader in Sandeshkhali said that Rekha needs some time to settle down with the current political fame that she received overnight as she was not from any political background.

“She could not even believe when Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her. We hope she will learn everything within a very short time. She already learned how to answer questions from reporters and what to say in front of people as a Lok Sabha candidate,” he said.

At the roadshow, a source said, women were present in significant numbers.

Adhikari, who led the march, said the BJP would take revenge for atrocities in Sandeshkhali in the Lok Sabha polls.