Bengal Elections 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went all out against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the poll battle to dislodge her from power in West Bengal. The saffron party has been raising issues related to people, including corruption and women's safety. Aiming to draw women voters, the BJP fielded RG Kar rape and murder victim's mother from the Panihati constituency in the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, considered a TMC stronghold, in North 24 Parganas district.
Will The RG Kar Case Impact TMC's Electoral Prospects?
Her candidature from Panihati signals the BJP's attempt to politically channel the anger and emotional resonance of the RG Kar protest that had drawn doctors, students and civil society members to the streets for months, demanding justice. The BJP is set to make RG Kar's parents victims of the poll campaigners to raise the issue of women's safety. The saffron party wants to highlight the law and order issue in the urban areas against the ruling party. If the BJP sets the victims' parents to lead the poll campaign, it may impact voters' sentiments against the ruling establishment.
Victim's Parents Open Front Against Ruling TMC
The parents of the deceased woman doctor asserted that only the BJP can end the "misrule" of the TMC in West Bengal and ensure justice for their daughter as well as the safety of women in the state. The mother's decision to contest the assembly elections was driven by their continuing fight against the TMC government for justice.
"Only the BJP can ensure justice for my daughter and provide safety and security to the women of the state," the deceased doctor's father said.
Will Campaign Against CM If Party Wants: Victim's Mother
The victim's mother said she would campaign even in Bhabanipur, from where Chief Banerjee is contesting. "If the party wants, we will campaign there also to ensure her defeat," she added. The victim's mother said she had earlier received an offer from the BJP but was not mentally prepared to enter politics at that time.
"I had long back received offers from all political parties, including the TMC and the BJP, but I was not mentally ready then. Recently, I decided to contest the polls because I want to end the misrule of the Trinamool Congress," she said.
"Given incidents of violence against women and the urgent need for their safety, I personally expressed my desire to become a BJP candidate and held discussions with the party leadership," she said.
What Is RG Kar Case?
Nearly a year-and-a-half after a 26-year-old girl was raped and murdered inside a locked seminar room of the state-run hospital in Kolkata in August 2024. The young doctor's body was discovered on August 9 inside the seminar hall of the Chest Medicine Department on the fourth floor of the hospital's emergency building. A civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and murder. But the victim's family and several activists insist that more people were involved in the crime. Two other arrests followed in the case, Sandip Ghosh, the then principal of the hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, on charges of misleading the probe.
(With PTI Inputs)