Her daughter was raped and killed. Now she’s seeking office, and justice.

By ANUPREETA DA and HARI KUMAR

The heinous rape and murder, in August 2024, of a young doctor who was resting in a hospital seminar room between shifts unleashed a storm of rage, leading to a criminal inquiry that expanded into broader investigations into potential systemic corruption.

More than a year-and-a-half later, the doctor’s mother, Ratna Debnath, has stepped into the political realm as a candidate for West Bengal’s state legislature, aiming to seek justice for her daughter and greater safety for women.

“I’ve lost my daughter and my house has become empty, but I want to ensure the safety of thousands of women,” Debnath, 54, said. “That’s why I’ve joined politics.”

Debnath’s personal story became a key element in the campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist political party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to unseat the current government of West Bengal, which is led by Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress party.

By choosing to join the BJP, which sought her candidacy for months, Debnath has thrust herself not just into the heat of the state’s election. She has also become a figure in Modi’s broader campaign to position his party nationwide as a champion of women.

While women have made significant strides in India, with greater numbers entering the formal workforce, many still fight the undertow of patriarchal norms that continue to dominate society and, in many contexts, normalize violence against them. In recent years, overall crime against women has risen, although there has been a decline in the number of dowry deaths, the leading cause of violence against women. Many crimes also go unreported.

The BJP has launched multiple welfare programs and campaigns to support women, but it has also been criticized in the wake of major incidents of sexual violence. The police in New Delhi cracked down on a protest against sexual harassment in the sport of wrestling in 2023 and, a year earlier, 11 men convicted of rape and murder in a state once governed by Modi had their prison sentences cut short.

In West Bengal, the BJP has been wooing female voters, who participated in the 2021 state election here in greater numbers than male voters, by making their safety and welfare a pillar of its campaign.

At a rally Friday afternoon with Debnath, Modi — who campaigned in the state — painted the Trinamool as “anti-women” and a corrupt, lawless government that had failed to bring to account all those involved in her daughter’s case. Hundreds of women who attended wore turbans or scarves of saffron, the BJP’s signature color.

He announced programs that would provide more cash benefits to pregnant women, loans of up to 2 million rupees, or about $21,500, for self-employed women, and free cervical cancer vaccines.

Banerjee, who is seeking a fourth term in office, highlighted popular welfare programs she launched for women since she came to power in 2011. She also focused on portraying the Trinamool as an inclusive party and custodian of the Bengali identity.

At the national level, the BJP-led government recently sought to push through a bill to expand the parliament to 850 seats from 543, and reserve 33% of the seats in parliament and state governments for women. (Women make up around 14% of India’s current parliament.)

But opposition parties accused the government of using the issue as a backdoor to potentially tilt the balance of power in parliament to give more seats to states that are BJP strongholds.