BJP's West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar was arrested on Saturday afternoon when he tried to visit violence-hit Howrah district, police said.
Majumdar, the MP of Balurghat in Uttar Dinajpur, was arrested near the toll plaza on Vidyasagar Setu, they said.
"Mr Majumdar was trying to travel to Howrah where prohibitory orders under CrPC 144 have been clamped. His visit could have created a law and order situation. This is a preventive arrest," a senior police officer said.
Violence rocked parts of Howrah on Friday following the inflammatory remarks of now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed.