KOLKATA: The West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that two crore rupees had been spent to kill his former personal assistant (PA) Chandranath Rath.
The BJP nominated slain Chandranath’s mother, Ransirani Rath, to contest from the high-voltage Nandigram assembly seat, and former Murshidabad district president Sakharav Sarkar will contest from Rejinagar for the upcoming bypolls scheduled for October 6 in the two seats.
Hansirani, accompanied by the Chief Minister, filed her nomination paper at the office of the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Haldia in East Midnapore district.
After coming out of the SDO office, Suvendu claimed, “So far, I know two crore rupees were spent to eliminate Chandranath. ‘Bhaipo gang’ has supplied the money to the contract killers, who carried out the operation.”
“Seven persons, including the shooters and persons who had given them the contract for the operation, have been arrested. CBI has been engaged to probe the case because inter-state issues are involved behind the murder,” Suvendu said.
“Persons who handed over the money to the contract killers are from Diamond Harbour,” he said, claiming that he has heard their call records.
Significantly, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee is a Trinamool Congress MP from Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district in the state.
“I don’t know anything more about the investigation as the CBI is probing the case. Seven persons have been arrested, and a chargesheet has also been framed. I believe the accused will be hanged to death,” he said.
The CBI probing the Chandranath Routh murder case has not yet got any clue in connection with the seven accused persons’ link to the Trinamool Congress.
Five among the seven accused are professional criminals from other states. The remaining two, Sagar and Saheb Sonkar, are prime conspirators who are not from Diamond Harbour.
Chandranath was shot dead in North 24 Parganas days after the BJP came to power in Bengal following its defeat of the TMC.
Chandranath was travelling in a car at Madhyamgram on May 6 when motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly fired at him. He died after being taken to hospital, while the driver was injured.
The case, initially investigated by the state police and a Special Investigation Team, was later handed over to the CBI.
Hansirani's candidature had been the subject of speculation in Nandigram.
Earlier on Tuesday, she appeared to confirm the move by offering prayers at the Siddheshwar Shiv Temple and Jankinath Temple before the BJP formally announced her nomination.
Accompanied by a large procession of BJP workers and supporters, she filed her nomination in the SDO office in Haldia later in the day.
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 had said, adding that she would discharge any responsibility entrusted to her by the party with sincerity.
After offering prayers at the temples on Tuesday, Rath 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 Nandigram seat was vacated by Adhikari after he retained Bhabanipur.
He had won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 assembly elections.
In Rejinagar, the BJP has chosen Sarkar, a former Murshidabad district president and current member of the party's state committee.
The Rejinagar seat was vacated by Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the 2026 assembly elections.
Kabir subsequently vacated Rejinagar and has backed his son Golam Nabi Azad, popularly known as Robin, for the bypoll.
The two constituencies are set for a multi-cornered contest, with the BJP, Congress, Left and two rival TMC factions belonging to Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, Leader of Opposition, in the fray.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction has nominated Sanchita Pradhan Dey in Nandigram and former MLA Rabiul Alam Chowdhury in Rejinagar.
The rebel TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has fielded Mohammad Eteshamul Haque and Safiuzzaman Sheikh, respectively.