Former West Bengal legislator Manju Basu on Sunday denied reports that she was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the Noapara Assembly bye-election, and said that she was still with the Trinamool Congress, PTI reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had on Sunday announced Basu as its candidate for the January 29 bye-elections. But hours later, the former TMC MLA said she was a “loyal soldier” of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“I am not contesting on behalf of the BJP. I am with our party supremo Mamata Banerjee and I am with her in every decision,” she said, according to News18.

BJP sources said Basu had given a missed call to the party’s toll-free number to become a member, according to PTI. There was no official announcement that she had joined the BJP.

While rejecting their offer, Basu said, “You can have offers from various political parties. But whether you will accept it or not is a personal decision.”

Basu is a two-time Trinamool Congress MLA from the Noapara assembly seat and was a close associate of Mukul Roy, who left the TMC to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in November 2017.

The BJP has now accused the Trinamool Congress of threatening Basu. “We were aware that she was being threatened by the TMC,” BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said. “That’s the reason…She was forced to backtrack.”

Sayantan Basu said Manju Basu was being “threatened since the morning and 50 miscreants had surrounded her house”, according to Ei Samay.

On Monday afternoon, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced that it will field Sandeep Banerjee from the Noapara seat, while the TMC said its candidate is Sunil Singh.

The Noapara assembly seat fell vacant after the death of Congress MLA Madhusudan Ghose a few months ago.