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BJP releases third list of 19 candidates for Bengal, RG Kar victim's mother among contestants
The assembly polls in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29 and the counting will be done on May 4.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday fielded the mother of a trainee doctor who was raped and murdered in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in August 2024 from the Panihati seat in North 24 Parganas district.
Ratna Debnath’s name figured in the third list of 19 candidates released by the BJP on Wednesday for the two-phase West Bengal assembly polls in April. With the third list, the BJP has named 274 candidates. The Bengal assembly has 294 seats.
The BJP has also named former commando Dipanjan Chakraborty, who had served in the National Security Guard (NSG), as the party candidate from Hooghly district’s Uttarpara seat.
Debnath said she received an offer from the BJP to fight elections a long time back, but hadn’t been able to make up her mind.
“This will give me a platform to fight for justice for my daughter. We ran from pillar to post but did not get justice. If I win, it will be the victory of Panihati residents, not mine. My sole aim is to ensure the safety of women in this state,” she said.
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The rape and murder of the trainee doctor was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the prime suspect, Sanjay Roy, was convicted for the rape and murder in January 2025. Roy has been sentenced to life in prison.
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Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh questioned Debnath’s decision to contest on a BJP ticket.
“I wonder why you ran to the BJP to seek safety for women. Have you forgotten the rape and murder of women in BJP-ruled states? Have you forgotten the Unnao and Hathras incidents?” Ghosh asked.
The BJP released its first list of 144 candidates on March 16. Two of them were later changed on March 19, when the party finalised its second list of 111 candidates, fielding several former heavyweight TMC leaders and actors who joined the party before the 2021 polls, and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rajesh Kumar.
