The Panihati constituency in the politically significant North 24 Parganas district has emerged as one of the most closely watched seats in the 2026 Assembly elections.
At the head of the battle here is Ratna Debnath, the mother of the R.G. Kar rape and murder victim and the BJP's pick for the Panihati seat.
After eight rounds of counting in Panihati, Debnath has maintained a solid lead of 20,799 votes over her main rival for the seat, the TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh, son of the five-time MLA Nirmal Ghosh.
The BJP candidate has currently garnered 56,865 votes as opposed to Ghosh's 36,066, with the CPI(M) candidate Kalatan Dasgupta trailing far behind with 15,004 votes. There are now five rounds of counting left at Panihati.
In one of her first reactions to the massive 20,000-vote lead over Ghosh, she told ANI that "as long as I am alive, I will continue my fight".
#WATCH | West Bengal: Mother of RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim and BJP candidate from Panihati, Ratna Debnath, shows a victory sign, as she is leading from Panihati constituency
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2026
Visuals from a counting centre in Panihati pic.twitter.com/TS5ZZ0rO12
"My daughter is the daughter of the entire nation. The whole world was watching Panihati. My fight does not end here ... The case is currently ongoing in court. My fight will continue ahead," she added, showing a victory sign.
#WATCH | North 24 Parganas | Mother of the victim of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case & BJP candidate Ratna Debnath from the Panihati seat, says, "My daughter is the daughter of the entire nation. The whole world was watching Panihati. My fight does not end here.… pic.twitter.com/Dnq22MWwvr
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2026
This comes despite the strong opposition she faced from TMC workers during polling, in a constituency where the ongoing case around the rape and murder of her postgraduate daughter in 2024 is an important political flashpoint.
In fact, during the second phase of elections in the state on April 29, she was stopped by TMC workers at the New Adarsh Nagar after trying to visit booth number 165 at Panihati.
Ratna Debnath had allegedly gone to the New Adarsh Nagar area to have a look at the progress of voting at booth number 165 in Panihati when her car was blocked.
— THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) April 29, 2026
(ratna debnath panihati tmc bjp, rg kar case west bengal assembly elections 2026)https://t.co/mt10TSSDr2
However, she alleged that her car was surrounded by TMC workers, who shouted slogans such as 'go back' and 'Joy Bangla'.
"Chasing them away won’t solve anything; they will come again. Strict action must be taken," she had said at the time, as per an IANS report.
Sekharranjan Debnath, the father of the R.G. Kar victim, alleged that the police had not even tried removing the TMC workers, "but asked us to go away from the spot".
As of now, the BJP is currently leading in the state with more than 200 seats—well past the majority of 148 seats in the 294-seat Assembly. The TMC, in contrast, leads in 81 seats.
