West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP announces second list of candidates; R.G. Kar rape-murder victim’s mother seeks ticket
The Hindu
BJP announces 112 candidates for West Bengal Assembly polls, including former MPs, lawyers, but excludes Abhaya’s mother’s candidature.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (March 19, 2026) announced candidates for 112 seats, which included three former MPs, but maintained silence on the candidature of Abhaya’s mother.
On Thursday (March 19, 2026), the mother of the doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Hospital in August 2024 told media persons that she has informed the BJP leadership about her decision to contest the Assembly polls from Panihati seat in North 24 Parganas district. The BJP has not yet announced a candidate for the seat.
Assembly elections 2026 updates on March 19, 2026
The mother of the victim, popularly called Abhaya, vowed to defeat the Trinamool Congress government and said that the downfall of the Trinamool regime would bring justice to her daughter. The months-long protests in 2024 over the gruesome crime were one of the biggest challenges faced by the Mamata Banerjee government in its third term. Abhaya’s mother also targeted the CPI(M) leadership and alleged that the party leaders had used the death of her daughter as a political opportunity.
In the first list of candidates announced on Monday (March 16, 2026), the BJP announced 144 names; the list on Thursday (March 19, 2026) named 111 new candidates and changed one candidate. The party on Thursday (March 19, 2026) also changed the candidate for the Bishnupur Assembly seat.
Significant names on the list include three former MPs — former Rajya Sabha member Rupa Ganguly contesting from Sonarpur South in South 24 Parganas, Arjun Singh from Noapara in North 24 Parganas and Nisith Pramanik from Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district.
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