Kolkata: Barely two days after his party registered a whopping victory in the Assembly elections of poll-violence prone West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikar’s trusted lieutenant Chandranath Rath was killed in cold blood on a public road when assassins pumped three bullets into him on Wednesday (6 May) night.
Chandra Nath Rath, who was the personal assistant of Suvendu Adhikari while the BJP Bengal chief minister probable was leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, was shot dead on Wednesday night. Rath and his family were associated with Adhikari for years, including when he was in the Trinamool.
‘Chandra’ was not a public face, but worked silently on whatever he had taken up. Those who knew him described him as soft-spoken, disciplined and deeply spiritual.
Very little was known to the people of rest of India about this 41-year-old man who was the lynch pin in Adhikar’s political campaign. He was instrumental in holding all loose pieces together and was the key aide to Suvendu Adhiakari after joining him in 2019.
Immediately after the news of the killing of Chandranath Rath broke on the internet, those outside West Bengal began searching for who was this person with so much importance but hitherto in the wings and not in spotlight?
Now a casualty of post-poll-violence aftermath almost typical of West Bengal since its Leftist and TMC rule in the last half century, Chandranath Rath was a key aide to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari who had deep roots in the spiritual ethos of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Rath hailed from Chandipur, Purba Medinipur and studied at the Rahara Ramakrishna Mission, a well-known institution, where he was heavily influenced by the organization’s spiritual ideals during his student life.
The Rahara Ramakrishna Mission is part of the Ramakrishna Mission network, focused on education, spirituality, and social service based on the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda.
According to family members and acquaintances, Rath was so deeply impacted by these teachings that he had once considered pursuing a life of spirituality before committing to a military career. He was somehow dissuaded from the inclination to don the robes of a monk or become an ascetic and serve Dharma to follow his spiritual inclination.
He then joined the Indian Air Force and served there for nearly two decades. He later took voluntary retirement, spent time in the corporate sector, and eventually became a trusted behind-the-scenes organizer for Suvendu Adhikari.
Senior journalist Pallavi Ghosh describes him as “…a shadow of Sevendu Adhikari, patient, efficient, smiling”.
Chandra was a shadow of @SuvenduWB met him day before – patient , efficient .. smiling .. while we wait to know who was behind this – imagine the pain of his family . And here vulture netas have no word of mourning instead r pot shots . Inhuman
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) May 6, 2026
Rath and his family were associated with Adhikari for years, including when he was in the Trinamool.
Rath had visited the state Assembly in planning for the BJP’s swearing-in ceremony that is set to take place on Saturday 9 May after trouncing the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress that had become notorious for excesses that the citizens of the state feared and abhorred. A host of national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah are expected at that event.
Rath was attacked on the way to his residence in North 24-Pargana’s Madhyamgram near Kolkata, per initial information, but never reached home. His driver too sustained a bullet injury and is said to be critical, but under treatment at Apollo Hospital. Rath who was rushed to the nearby Vivacity Nursing Home, a private hospital, was declared dead after attempts to resuscitate him failed.
How the attack unfolded:
A small Nissan car intercepted and blocked the SUV in which Chandranath rath was travelling, seated beside the driver in the front.
Bike-borne assailants immediately moved in and opened fire once the vehicle was rendered trapped in position.
They fled immediately after shooting Nath at point-blank range and though eye-witnesses noted the vehicle registration number of the attacker’s vehicle, it turns out that the bike carried a forged registration number, indicating a high level of premeditation.
A large team of police officials arrived at the spot immediately while the injured were rushed to the hospital.
Hundreds of BJP workers gathered outside Vivacity Multispecialty Hospital in Madhyamgram, where Rath was declared dead.
BJP leaders reached the hospital soon after, including Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, MLA elect from Barrackpore Kaustav Bagchi, and MLA elect Noapara Arjun Singh.
The motive behind the attack was not immediately known.
