Ratna Debnath, RG Kar victim's mother and BJP candidate, wins Bengal elections
Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar victim, won Panihati in her electoral debut. Her victory, alongside Rekha Patra's win, underscored the BJP's wider breakthrough in West Bengal.
by Sahil Sinha · India TodayIn Short
- Ratna Debnath entered politics after her daughter's rape and murder in 2024
- She campaigned on women's safety and accountability issues in governance
- Debnath was promised a deeper probe into her daughter's case by Trinamaool
Mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim and BJP leader, Ratna Debnath, on Monday secured a decisive victory from the Panihati Assembly constituency, marking one of the most closely watched contests in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Debnath, contesting her debut election, defeated Trinamool Congress candidate Tirthankar Ghosh by a margin of 28,836 votes. According to Election Commission data, she received 87,977 votes, while Ghosh polled 59,141 votes.
After her victory, Debnath said the mandate reflected the voice of the people. "This victory is the victory of the people of Panihati, of the entire Bengal. I dedicate this victory to Prime Minister Modi. I have been able to free the people from the misgovernance of the Ghosh family. I thank the people; I could not have done this alone," she said.
Her entry into politics came in the aftermath of the brutal rape and murder of her daughter, a young doctor at Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024. The case had triggered widespread outrage across the state.
Debnath, a resident of Pansila in Sodpur under the Panihati Assembly segment, had campaigned heavily on issues of women's safety and accountability in governance. She repeatedly pledged during her campaign that she would push for a deeper probe into the RG Kar case and ensure those behind what she described as a larger conspiracy are brought to justice.
Her candidature had also drawn controversy during the campaign after she accused both CPI(M) and TMC leaders of politicising the protests linked to the RG Kar incident. The BJP, however, projected her as a grieving mother seeking justice.
Alongside Debnath, Rekha Patra, who emerged as a prominent face during the Sandeshkhali protests against alleged atrocities by now-arrested TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates, also secured victory in Hingalganj Assembly seat.
Patra, who had earlier contested unsuccessfully from Basirhat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, won this time by a margin of 5,421 votes. She polled 1,00,207 votes, while her nearest rival from the TMC, Ananda Sarkar, received 94,786 votes.
Patra had gained national attention during the Sandeshkhali unrest after leading large-scale protests while carrying her young daughter, becoming a symbol of resistance for many in the BJP's narrative on women's safety in the region.
In a decisive and symbolic verdict, the BJP on Monday secured a historic win in West Bengal, crossing the two-thirds mark with 202 seats in the Assembly. The result brings an end to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress' 15-year-long rule in the state.
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