Stunned by the loss of her son barely 48 hours after the Assembly poll results, Chandranath Rath’s mother on Thursday (May 7, 2026) demanded a life term for the culprits and claimed the killing was a result of Mamata Banerjee’s defeat against Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur.

Mr. Adhikari’s executive assistant was shot dead by bike-borne assailants who intercepted Rath’s vehicle near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday (May 6, 2026), forced it to stop and opened fire at point-blank range before fleeing.

“As a mother, I cannot seek death for anyone. But I will demand life imprisonment for the culprits,” she told TV channels.

The grieving mother claimed the killing was a “revenge for Mamata Banerjee’s defeat in Bhabanipur”.

Pointed to statements made by TMC leaders during the poll campaign to claim that while Mr. Adhikari was appealing for peaceful voting, the TMC was publicly declaring that after the May 4 results, “no leader from Delhi would be able to save BJP workers”.

“They proved it right,” she alleged.

She said her son was given special responsibility for the Nandigram and Bhabanipur elections.

“I would not have been in so much pain had he died in an accident. He was responsible for the Nandigram and Bhabanipur elections, and that is why he was targeted,” Rath’s mother alleged in front of local TV channels.