The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded the mother of a trainee doctor who was raped and murdered in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in 2024 from Panihati assembly constituency as it released the third list of 19 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal polls on 25 March.
Her candidature from Panihati signals the party’s attempt to channel the outrage over the case, which had triggered months of protests across the state demanding justice and improved safety for women.
“I have become a candidate. If I win, the people of Panihati will win. I will raise my voice for those who have forgotten how to protest,” she said, adding that she would work to improve the condition of the constituency and serve people,” she said in an interview with a television channel after the announcement. She said contesting the election was not a matter of pride but a painful responsibility.
In Panihati, she will face TMC candidate Tirthankar Ghosh, son of outgoing chief whip of the assembly Nirmal Ghosh, while the CPI(M) has fielded Kallatan Dasgupta.
“I have become a candidate. If I win, the people of Panihati will win. I will raise my voice for those who have forgotten how to protest,” she said, adding that she would work to improve the condition of the constituency and serve people.
The rape and murder were investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the prime suspect, Sanjay Roy, was convicted of the rape and murder in January 2025. Roy has been sentenced to life in prison.
“If I can serve people, my daughter will also be happy. I want the lotus to bloom across West Bengal and the TMC to be uprooted,” she said.
Her entry into electoral politics comes nearly a year-and-a-half after the incident that shook the state and sparked a massive civil society movement that cut across political affiliations.
The protests, led by medical professionals and students, had turned into a wider agitation questioning law and order and governance in the state.
The BJP has repeatedly invoked the incident during its campaign, accusing the ruling TMC government of failing to ensure women’s safety and alleging that attempts were made to shield those responsible for lapses in the investigation.
Her candidature has sparked a political row in poll-bound West Bengal.
Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh questioned her 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 in an interview with the news agency ANI.
Before her official candidature, she and her husband had claimed to have joined the BJP, sparking criticism from those who were part of the protests over the case.
“We are feeling a strange paradox. Watching Abhaya’s mother join the BJP in the name of ‘women’s safety’ is so ironic that I don’t know how to accept this,” Kolkata-based martial artist Roudri Bagchi, who had also participated in the protests, told The Quint. The RG Kar rape victim is referred to as Abhaya by many news outlets.
The BJP defended the decision. This is not just a candidature, it is a fight for justice, the saffron party said.
“Let us not forget how the Mamata Banerjee government handled this horrific crime. From attempts to suppress the truth, erasing evidence, mishandling the autopsy, hurried cremation, failure to preserve samples for further forensic examination, to tampering with the crime scene, serious questions were raised at every step,” BJP leader Amit Malviya, who is also BJP’s head of National Information & Technology Deptartment andco-incharge of West Bengal said in a post on X.
BJP’s third list
According to the BJP’s third list, which had 19 names released on Wednesday, Rathindra Nath Bose will contest from Cooch Behar Dakshin, with the party dropping its sitting MLA, and Chitrajit Roy from Islampur and Arup Kumar Das from Singur.
Biplab Mandal has been fielded from Howrah Madhya, Sankar Guchhait from Medinipur, Anil Singh from Naihati, Subir Nag from Chunchura and Dipanjan Chakraborty from Uttarpara.
Madhumita Ghosh will contest from Haripal, while other nominees include Dinesh Sarkar (Raiganj), Haripada Barman (Hemtabad), Amlan Bhaduri (English Bazar), Swapan Das (Shantipur), Dipanjan Kumar Guha (Chandannagar), Harekrishna Bera (Tamluk) and Prankrishna Tapadar (Purbasthali Dakshin).
Krishna Ghosh will contest from Katwa, Krishnakanta Saha from Sainthia and Anil Singh from Nalhati.
In English Bazar, the party replaced its sitting MLA, Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury, popularly known as ‘Nirbhaya Didi’, and nominated Amlan Bhaduri.
With the latest announcement, the BJP has now declared candidates for 275 of the 294 assembly seats in the state, while names for 19 constituencies are yet to be announced.
I have become a candidate. If I win, the people of Panihati will win. I will raise my voice for those who have forgotten how to protest.
The ruling TMC has already declared candidates for all 294 seats, while the CPI(M)-led Left Front has released three lists so far. The Congress is yet to announce its candidates.
Polling in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with votes set to be counted on May 4.
