All eyes are on the Panihati Assembly seat in the West Bengal assembly elections where BJP's Ratna Debnath is battling neck-to-neck with TMC candidate Tirthankar Ghosh, son of the five-term sitting MLA.
Debnath is the mother of the postgraduate trainee doctor who was tragically raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College in 2024.
Currently, the numbers that the BJP candidate has an edge over her competitor by 5067 votes and has a total of 13,784 in her kitty. Ghosh on the other hand has managed to bag only 8,717 votes so far.
In the aftermath of her daughter's death, women's safety, judicial accountability, and the breakdown of law and order in Bengal were the heart of her electoral campaign.
The rape case had sparked nationwide outrage and raised many questions around women's safety in one of the safest cities of the country, Kolkata.
Debnath said she chose to fight in this election for her daughter and for women "whose security is under threat under the TMC government".
"Mamata Banerjee and her corrupt party leaders are responsible for my daughter's death. People welcome me when I reach out for votes and assure me of their support. I lost my daughter, but I want to serve the people and help them. I may not be a doctor like her, but as a representative, I want to continue her mission," Debnath told reporters.
Ahead of the nomination,she had vowed to defeat Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections, claiming that she won't comb her hair till she gets justice for her daughter.
ALSO READ: West Bengal Election Results: Full List Of Winners And Losers
Bengal Elections 2026
The 2026 West Bengal election has witnessed a sharp call for change, with the broader trend suggesting a comprehensive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which looks set to dethrone Mamata Banerjee after a 15-year rule.
This comes on the back of a historic 92% voter turnout, albeit coming off a low base. And while there is still a long way to go before the counting gets done, we will take a look at three key winners and losers from the West Bengal election, as of counting results by noon.
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