Panihati election results 2026: BJP’s Ratna Debnath defeats TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh by 28,836 votes

In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath (Bharatiya Janata Party) defeated TMC candidate Tirthankar Ghosh (All India Trinamool Congress) by 28,836 votes, securing 87,977 votes against 59,141 after 13 rounds of counting. This victory is significant as Debnath is the mother of the victim of the RG Kar murder and rape case.Panihati is a general category constituency in North 24 Parganas, part of the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat. It is a densely populated urban constituency covering wards of Panihati Municipality. In 2026, TMC has fielded Tirthankar Ghosh, while BJP's candidate is Ratna Debnath — the mother of the victim in the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case, which became a major national issue during the 2026 campaign.In 2021, TMC's Nirmal Ghosh won the seat with 86,495 votes, defeating BJP's Sanmoy Bandyopadhyay by 25,177 votes. TMC's vote share was around 50.5 per cent, with BJP at around 36 per cent. In 2016, TMC also held the seat. BJP's decision to field Ratna Debnath makes this one of the most emotionally charged contests of the 2026 election, directly linking women's safety — a central campaign issue — to the ballot.