New Delhi, May 7 -- BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is also the frontrunner for the West Bengal Chief Minister's post, claimed on Thursday that "the only reason behind Chandranath Rath's murder is that he was my executive assistant and that I had defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur."

In the West Bengal Elections 2026, Suvendu Adhikari won the Bhabanipur and Nandigram constituencies. He defeated the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee from Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes.

Rath was a close aide and personal assistant of the party's senior leader Suvendu Adhikari. He was shot dead in Madhyamgram in the North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday night.

Bike-borne assailants reportedly intercepted Rath's vehicle near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10...