Chandranath Rath: Chandranath aspired to become a monk during his student days—so how did he go on to become Suvendu's closest confidant in politics?

Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, has been murdered. He was shot dead by attackers riding on a motorcycle. He had served as Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant for a long time and also functioned as his special aide.

Appeared Like a Shadow

For the past seven years, Chandranath Rath had become an extremely close confidant of the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari. From organizing his busy political schedule and maintaining files to conducting preparatory briefings for his meetings and answering his phone calls—in every responsibility, Rath appeared to be like Adhikari's shadow.

Hailed from Suvendu Adhikari's Home District

The 42-year-old Rath was a veteran of the Indian Air Force. He was a native of East Midnapore, Adhikari's home district. His family has shared a long-standing association with the Adhikari family—an association that persisted even during the time when Adhikari was affiliated with the Trinamool Congress. Suvendu Adhikari had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prior to the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. Rath's family members claim that he possessed a spiritual inclination right from his student days; he had even once expressed a desire to become a monk.

Served in the Indian Air Force for 18 Years

He served in the Indian Air Force for approximately 18 years. Subsequently, in 2019, he began working permanently as Adhikari's full-time associate and personal assistant. During this period—between 2016 and 2021—Adhikari served as a member of the State Cabinet during the second term of the Mamata Banerjee-led, Trinamool Congress-ruled government in West Bengal. When Adhikari joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, Rath once again remained by his side. After winning the 2021 election from the Nandigram Assembly constituency—defeating the incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—Adhikari became the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and chose Rath to continue as his personal assistant.

Ahead of this year's assembly elections, there was speculation within media circles—as well as among those close to Adhikari—that if the BJP were to come to power in West Bengal, and if Adhikari were to become the Chief Minister of the state's first post-independence BJP-led government, then Rath would undoubtedly serve as the new Chief Minister's Executive Assistant. The BJP has achieved a resounding victory in West Bengal, where Adhikari not only defeated Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in South Kolkata but also secured a win from his home constituency of Nandigram.