Slain Chandranath Rath: From air force serviceman to Suvendu’s trusted troubleshooter

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 07, 2026 06:31 am IST - Kolkata In this image received on May 6, 2026, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath was shot at from close range by unidentified assailants in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) night, sources said. | Photo Credit: PTI Chandranath Rath, the close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari who was shot dead in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, had travelled an unusual path — from serving in the Indian Air Force to becoming one of the Opposition leader’s most trusted political associates. Rath, 41, originally hailed from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district, the political turf that shaped Mr. Adhikari’s rise in Bengal politics, party sources said. Soft-spoken and low-profile, he remained largely away from public attention despite being part of Mr. Adhikari’s inner circle for years. ALSO WATCH Watch: Violence erupts after polls in Bengal; EC orders arrests Before entering active political organisational work, Rath had spent nearly two decades in the Indian Air Force after completing his studies at Rahara Ramakrishna Mission. People close to the family said he had once considered a spiritual life and was deeply influenced by the Ramakrishna Mission ethos during his student years. After taking voluntary retirement from the Air Force, he briefly worked in the corporate sector before gradually moving into political coordination and administrative responsibilities. His family, like Mr. Adhikari’s, had earlier been associated with the Trinamool Congress. His mother Hasi Rath had held a position in a local panchayat body in Purba Medinipur during the TMC years before shifting allegiance to the BJP along with Adhikari in 2020. Family acquaintances said the connection between the Rath family and Mr. Adhikari went back more than two decades to the early years of the TMC’s expansion in Purba Medinipur. Rath formally became part of Mr. Adhikari’s official team around 2019, when the latter was serving as a Minister in the Mamata Banerjee government. He initially handled responsibilities linked to Mr. Adhikari’s ministerial office and later continued in a similar role after Mr. Adhikari crossed over to the saffron camp. Over the years, Rath emerged as a key backroom figure in Mr. Adhikari’s political operations, coordinating organisational work, managing logistics and maintaining communication with party workers. BJP insiders described him as someone who enjoyed Mr. Adhikari’s complete confidence and was often involved in sensitive assignments linked to campaign management and political coordination. He was also part of the core team during several high-voltage political battles, including the BJP’s Bhabanipur campaign. Within sections of the BJP organisation, there had even been speculation that Rath could be entrusted with a larger administrative responsibility if Mr. Adhikari assumed a bigger role in government after the Assembly polls. Those discussions came to an abrupt end on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) night when motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly intercepted his vehicle near Madhyamgram’s Doharia area and opened fire at close range. His killing has triggered sharp political reactions in Bengal and intensified the already volatile atmosphere following the Assembly election results. West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 / Bengal / Kolkata / Bharatiya Janata Party / All India Trinamool Congress Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Slain Chandranath Rath: From air force serviceman to Suvendu’s trusted troubleshooter

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Slain Chandranath Rath: From air force serviceman to Suvendu’s trusted troubleshooter

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