BJP fields RG Kar victim’s mother from Panihati, ignites political firestorm

Kolkata: The BJP fielded Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Medical College Hospital victim doctor, from the Panihati Assembly Constituency in North 24-Parganas, sparking a major political controversy. She was among 19 candidates announced in the party’s third list for the upcoming Bengal Assembly elections.

Interestingly, the family of the RG Kar victim had earlier accused the BJP of not cooperating in their fight for justice. The victim’s parents had voiced dissatisfaction over the Opposition party’s role in demanding accountability for their daughter. This has raised questions about what kind of justice the family is now seeking.

“It seems that the torture and murder of our daughter have been forgotten by the principal Opposition party of West Bengal. But we cannot forget our daughter,” the family had said, pointing fingers at the BJP.

A section of political observers in Bengal opined that contesting an election on the BJP’s ticket not only amounts to politicising the rape and murder of the doctor but also gaining some political advantages out of an “unfortunate” incident, as it vitiates the intent of justice that was sought by the family and the fellow citizens.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, reacting to the BJP’s Panihati candidate, said: “We have respect for the family of the RG Kar victim. I would like to say that what they did and the way they fell into the BJP’s trap is a complete double standard. We also protested the gruesome incident, but we were against spreading canards against the state government.”

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, which the family had blamed for inaction, ensured that Kolkata Police responded swiftly, arresting the prime accused within hours of the incident.

After the case was transferred to the Central investigating agency, the CBI, following a court order, no further arrests were made, except for the civic volunteer promptly apprehended by Kolkata Police. Allegations that the state government and its agencies failed to deliver justice do not hold, as the Central agency was unable to make any additional arrests.

At one stage during the CBI investigation, the family also accused the Central agency of inaction. Multiple organisations staged protests on several occasions outside the CBI office in Salt Lake, voicing their demands for justice.

The postgraduate trainee was raped and murdered at night inside the RG Kar campus in August 2024. A locally influential civic volunteer, the sole accused in the case, was handed a life term in January 2025.

The victim’s parents had also launched an attack against the CPM-led Left, accusing it of benefiting politically from their daughter’s death and helping the Trinamool Congress remain in power.

“The Left Front had lost power after 34 years of rule, but it played a major role in keeping the TMC in power by splitting anti-TMC votes,” the father of the victim had said earlier.

A massive movement of the masses for securing justice to a victim and her family, which stayed “largely apolitical”, reduced into a futile exercise as the victim’s mother aligned herself with a party against whom she had raised voices.

Even the identity of the victim, which remained undisclosed, will eventually come to the public as her mother will carry out campaigns publicly, some feel.

Meanwhile, the other key names on BJP’s candidate list include former NSG officer Dipanjan Chakraborty, fielded from Uttarpara; Arup Kumar Das, who will be taking on TMC’s Becharam Manna in Singur; and Dr. Sankar Guchait, contesting from Midnapore.

The list also features several prominent North Bengal and district-level candidates, including Rathindranath Bose (Cooch Behar South), Dinesh Sarkar (Raiganj), Chiranjit Roy (Islampur), Haripada Barman (Hemtabad), Amlan Bhaduri (English Bazar), Swapnan Das (Shantipur), Biplab Mondal (Howrah Central), Dipanjan Kumar Guha (Chandannagar), Subir Nag (Chuchura), Madhumita Ghosh (Haripal), Harekrishna Bera (Tamluk), and Prankrishna Tapadar (Purba Medinipur South).

In Katwa, Krishna Ghosh will contest, while Krishnakanta Saha represents Sainthia, and Anil Singh takes on Nalhati. Although Ratna Debnath’s candidature was widely expected, it was officially confirmed only after she and her husband formally joined the BJP. Party sources said that final approvals for all candidates are granted by the central leadership in Delhi.

The BJP, however, is yet to announce the names of 19 remaining candidates in Bengal.