Racist flyers have painted a Sikh candidate running for mayor of a New Jersey town as a terrorist.

The advertisements, left on car windshields in Hoboken, were directed at City Councilman Ravi Bhalla just days before Election Day on Tuesday.

'Don't let TERRORISM take over our Town!' read the larger message on the flyers, placed directly above a photo of Bhalla in his turban.

The flyer used the majority of an advertisement originally run by fellow mayoral candidate Michael DeFusco that attacked Bhalla over an alleged conflict of interest and added the larger print.

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Racist flyers have painted a Sikh candidate running for mayor of a New Jersey town as a terrorist. 'Don't let TERRORISM take over our Town!' read the larger message on the flyer placed directly above a photo of Bhalla in his turban (pictured)

The advertisements, left on car windshields in Hoboken, were directed at City Councilman Ravi Bhalla (pictured, left, and right, with a supporter) just days before Election Day on Tuesday. If elected, Bhalla would be Hoboken's first Sikh mayor

'My wife was in tears. The hardest part as a father was answering my daughter's questions, asking: "Why are people attacking you because you wear a turban?"' said Bhalla (pictured, right, posing with supporters)

'There's been an undercurrent of racism I've seen in this campaign,' Bhalla, who would be Hoboken's first Sikh mayor, told the New York Daily News.

'That sort of whispering campaign has come to the surface now, where people have the audacity to send a flyer like that.'

Bhalla, the first Sikh to hold elective office in New Jersey, wears a turban as required by his religious beliefs.

He said his wife is in tears over the incident and he is having a hard time explaining the offensive flyers to his 10-year-old daughter.

'My wife was in tears,' said Bhalla. 'The hardest part as a father was answering my daughter's questions, asking: "Why are people attacking you because you wear a turban?"'

'That's a hard question to answer to a little girl, 10 years old.'

The flyer used the majority of an advertisement originally run by fellow mayoral candidate Michael DeFusco that attacked Bhalla over an alleged conflict of interest and added the larger print (Pictured, the original advertisement)

DeFusco (right), vying to become Hoboken's first gay mayor, quickly denied any part in printing or distributing the attack ads against Bhalla (left). 'I condemn this piece of racist garbage in the strongest possible terms,' he said, ripping up one of the offensive flyers at a press conference on Saturday

Courtesy of News12 NJ

The flyers were first seen tucked beneath the windshield wipers of parked cars by a volunteer for Bhalla's campaign on Friday evening.

Bhalla tweeted a picture of the flyer, writing: 'Yesterday, a flyer [with the] word “terrorist” above a pic of me was circulated in Hob[oken]. Of course this is troubling, but we won’t let hate win.'

DeFusco, vying to become Hoboken's first gay mayor, quickly denied any part in printing or distributing the attack ads.

Bhalla and DeFusco tweeted about the flyer, condemning its racist message

'I condemn this piece of racist garbage in the strongest possible terms,' he said, ripping up one of the offensive flyers at a press conference on Saturday. 'Political stunts like this are everything that's wrong with politics today.'

Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante said authorities are investigating the flyer distribution as a potential bias crime, including bias intimidation or harassment.

The city of 54,000 people has six candidates vying to replace Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who did not seek re-election. The city’s elections are non-partisan.