West Bengal's Panihati constituency becomes political battleground over RG Kar case.

West Bengal's Panihati constituency becomes political battleground over RG Kar case. Twenty months after the rape and murder of a young doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College triggered nationwide outrage, the crime has emerged as a defining electoral issue. The BJP has fielded the victim's mother, Ratna Debnath, against TMC's incumbent candidate in what was previously considered a safe party seat. The April 29 contest represents more than a typical assembly election. It reflects competing attempts by political parties to claim ownership of Bengal's largest protest movement in years and channel public anger over the case. For the ruling TMC, holding the seat since 2011 tests whether organizational strength can withstand waves of public sentiment. For the BJP, the candidature aims to convert anger into anti-TMC votes. The CPI(M) seeks to reclaim a movement its cadres visibly led.