Nandigram: Hasirani Rath, the mother of Chandranath Rath – former aide of West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari – who was shot dead, will be the BJP candidate from the Nandigram seat where bypolls will be held on October 6.
Chandranath was shot dead in Madhyamgram in the North 24-Parganas district of the state on May 6, a couple of days after the BJP swept to power in West Bengal by defeating the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The fielding of his mother from Nandigram will give the BJP’s campaign an emotive edge, particularly as most people of the constituency that was retained by Adhikari in 2026 knew Chandranath.
He was shot by motorcycle-borne assailants and died after being taken to hospital. His driver was injured. The case, initially investigated by the state police and a Special Investigation Team, was subsequently handed over to the CBI.
Hasirani’s candidature had been the subject of speculation in Nandigram, and she appeared to confirm it earlier on Tuesday by offering prayers at the Siddheshwar Shiv Temple and Jankinath Temple there before the BJP formally announced her name, as reported by PTI.
She is scheduled to file her nomination in Haldia later in the day. Adhikari is also expected to be present.
Hasirani is not a political novice. The BJP nominee said she has been active in politics since 1998 and has served twice as a panchayat member and three times as a panchayat samiti member.
“Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is the guardian of our family,” she said, adding that she would discharge any responsibility entrusted to her by the party with sincerity.
After offering prayers at the temples on Tuesday, the BJP candidate said she was happy to have been chosen by the party and expressed confidence of winning the Nandigram assembly seat by a margin of 1.10 lakh votes.
The BJP’s Nandigram strategy thus combines the personal narrative surrounding Chandranath’s killing with the constituency’s larger political symbolism. Adhikari, one of the BJP’s most prominent leaders in the state, had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 assembly elections before retaining Bhabanipur and vacating Nandigram.
The bypoll was necessitated as Adhikari vacated the seat.