‘Contesting For Women’s Safety’: RG Kar victim’s mother enters West Bengal poll battle

Mangalore Today News Network

Kolkata, Apr 4, 2026: Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim and the BJP candidate from the Panihati assembly seat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, said her election bid is motivated by a commitment to women’s safety.

“I am contesting the election for the safety of women… TMC candidate is no challenge for me here… People’s response is very good," she told reporters.

The horrific crime, which shocked the nation and sparked widespread protests across West Bengal and beyond, became a flashpoint in the debate over women’s safety, law and order, and accountability in the state.

#WATCH | North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: Mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim and BJP candidate from Panihati seat Ratna Debnath says, "I am contesting the election for the safety of women... TMC candidate is no challenge for me here... People’s response is… pic.twitter.com/ccoYJJ777B

— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2026

The Panihati constituency in North 24 Parganas is set to witness a closely watched contest, with the BJP expected to highlight Ratna Debnath’s candidature as both symbolic and emotionally significant in the aftermath of the RG Kar case.

The incident had sparked sustained protests by doctors, civil society organisations and opposition parties across the state, many of whom accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of failing to ensure transparency and justice in the case. The crime quickly became a rallying point in the broader political debate over governance and law and order in West Bengal.

Voting for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections will take place in two phases — on April 23 and April 29 — a notable reduction from the eight-phase polling schedule in 2021. The results are scheduled to be announced on May 4.

In the previous 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee secured a decisive mandate, winning 213 of the state’s 294 seats and returning to power for a third consecutive term. The BJP emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats, a dramatic rise from just three seats in 2016. Meanwhile, the Congress and the Left Front, once dominant in Bengal politics, failed to secure a single seat, marking a historic decline in their electoral influence.