West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | RG Kar victim’s mother Ratna Debnath of BJP leading by over 5000 votes in Panihati

The Election Commission data for the West Bengal polls showed the mother of the RG Kar rape-murder victim and BJP candidate Ratna Debnath leading in the Panihati assembly constituency.

She was ahead of the Trinamool Congress nominee by 5067 votes after the second round of counting. Ratna bagged 13784 votes while the TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh secured 8717 votes.

Ratna's daughter, a doctor on duty, was raped and murdered in Kolkata's state-run RG Medical College and Hospital in August 2024.

The doctor’s mother joined BJP and stepped into the political realm as a candidate for West Bengal’s state legislature.

“I’ve lost my daughter and my house has become empty, but I want to ensure the safety of thousands of women,” Debnath, 54, said. “That’s why I’ve joined politics," she is quoted in media reports.

By choosing to join the saffron party, which sought her candidacy for months, she also become a figure in Modi’s broader campaign to position his party nationwide as a champion of women.