He was not the kind of man who sought the spotlight. Within BJP circles in Bengal, Chandranath Rath, 41, operated quietly, trusted, disciplined, and rarely visible to the public eye. On Wednesday night, unidentified motorcycle-borne attackers intercepted his vehicle near Madhyamgram's Doharia area and shot him dead.

Those who knew Rath described him as a man of unlikely contradictions: a student of the Ramakrishna Mission who once weighed a life of spiritual retreat, a career Air Force officer who spent nearly two decades in uniform, and eventually, one of Suvendu Adhikari's most relied-upon political aides.

Who was Suvendu Adhikari's aide, Chandranath Rath?

Hailing from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur, Rath shared deep personal and political roots with Adhikari. Friends say he was soft-spoken and grounded, qualities that made him well-suited to the behind-the-scenes work that politics demands but rarely acknowledges. After taking voluntary retirement from the Air Force, he briefly worked in the corporate sector before political work began to take over.

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Rath's entry into BJP circles was gradual. His family had earlier been aligned with the Trinamool Congress; his mother, Hasi Rath, had held a position in a local panchayat body in Purba Medinipur. Like Adhikari, the family switched to the BJP in 2020. Rath himself had formally joined Adhikari's core team around 2019, when the BJP leader was still a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government.

He started with office coordination and administrative work. Over time, he grew into something more: the man trusted with sensitive political assignments, campaign logistics, and ground-level coordination with party workers. Party insiders say he enjoyed Adhikari's complete confidence and was increasingly being seen as a rising organisational figure.

Most visible, last public appearance 

His most visible moment came just days ago. On April 30, three days before counting day, when Mamata Banerjee visited the Bhabanipur strongroom at Shakhawat Memorial High School, Rath arrived with a small group of BJP supporters. With Adhikari away in his hometown Kanthi, Rath stepped forward to lead the protest outside the counting centre.

He was seen in a heated altercation with police personnel, alleging that a TMC campaign vehicle had been illegally parked near the premises while Banerjee was inside. Following his complaint, BJP workers staged a demonstration; the vehicle was eventually removed with the intervention of police and CRPF personnel.

Published on: May 7, 2026 11:10 AM IST