Kolkata, Sep 22 The BJP’s Nandigram bypoll candidate Hasirani Rath’s affidavit stated that she is “60+ years” old and that she completed her Class 10 examination in 1965, throwing up a discrepancy over her age and the time of attaining the educational qualification.
Rath has not mentioned her date of birth in the affidavit and said her age is “60+ years”.
In the educational qualifications column, Rath mentioned she completed the Class 10 exam from Chowkhali Ganga Padma Milan Kanya Vidyapith (H.S.) and gave 1965 as the year of completion.
The entries do not add up. If Rath were 60 years old in 2026, her year of birth would be around 1966, a year after she said she completed Class 10.
If she were 65, her birth year would be around 1961, which would mean she completed Class 10 at about four years of age.
Conversely, if she completed Class 10 at the more usual age of around 14-16 years, the 1965 qualification year would place her birth around 1949-51, making her approximately 75-77 years old in 2026.
A senior state Congress leader told PTI that the party would raise the matter with the Election Commission, urging it to carry out an investigation.
He said the EC should cancel the nomination if the candidate failed to explain the discrepancy.
Rath has been fielded by the BJP from Nandigram, the seat vacated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari after he retained Bhabanipur following the 2026 Assembly elections. The bypoll is scheduled for October 6.
Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, an aide of Adhikari, who was shot dead in Madhyamgram in May this year.
(PTI News)
