Kolkata, March 26 (NationPress) The Panihati Assembly constituency, located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has unexpectedly gained prominence in this election cycle. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Ratna Debnath, the mother of the junior doctor from the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, who tragically lost her life in a horrific incident of rape and murder within the hospital grounds in August 2024, as their candidate.

The Debnath family are also residents and voters in this constituency.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has put forward its well-known youth leader, Kalatan Dasgupta, who has become a significant figure in the movement concerning the R.G. Kar incident.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has selected Tirthankar Ghosh, the son of the current MLA and Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress Legislative Party, Nirmal Ghosh, who has served as a legislator in the area five times since 1996, save for one term from 2006 to 2011.

Historically, Panihati has been viewed as a stronghold for the Trinamool Congress, and under typical circumstances, their victory would have been anticipated by a significant margin.

However, this election presents challenges for the Trinamool Congress, particularly due to the controversies surrounding Nirmal Ghosh, who was not re-nominated. His involvement in the aftermath of the R.G. Kar case, where he was accused of mishandling the victim’s body post-mortem, has drawn criticism from both opposition parties and the public.

Opposition voices claim that Ghosh acted under directives from the party’s higher-ups to avoid a second post-mortem, which has contributed to the negative perception of his actions.

Political analysts believe that the controversies surrounding Ghosh ultimately influenced the party's decision to replace him with his son as the candidate for Panihati.

Observers argue that nominating Ghosh’s son was a necessary move for the Trinamool Congress to maintain party unity and avoid factionalism, which could further jeopardize their electoral chances.

In this context, the BJP candidate may benefit from a sympathy wave that emerged after the tragic incident drew national and international attention.

The CPI-M candidate, Kalatan Dasgupta, also holds an advantage due to his prominent role in the protests against the state government regarding the R.G. Kar issue and his previous detention during the protests on charges of collusion with extremist groups.