'It Didn't Break': BJP Runs Nandigram Bypoll Campaign On Mamata Banerjee's Leg Injury Of 2021

Ahead of the Nandigram by-election on October 6, a five-year-old episode of Bengal politics has taken centre stage. Chief Minister Suvendu has alleged that the then CM Mamata Banerjee had run a false campaign about a leg injury she suffered while campaigning in Nandigram during the 2021 Assembly elections. He announced that the state government would investigate the matter and said further steps would be disclosed once the by-election concludes.

In the run-up to the 2021 Assembly elections, the injury left the Trinamool Congress chief in a wheelchair until the end of the campaign. The injury was widely seen as having earned her party sympathy among voters across the state at a time when the BJP had thrown its full weight against the TMC. She lost the Nandigram seat but led the party to a sweeping victory. The BJP finally won the state this year.

Suvendu Adhikari first raised the allegation on Friday that she faked her injury while campaigning in Nandigram. A day later, he held an official press conference at the state secretariat, Nabanna. Citing a hospital report dated March 11, 2021, Adhikari alleged that his predecessor had lied that her leg was fractured. "The people of Nandigram were disrespected over this incident. Take a look at this document: 'No evidence of fracture or dislocation', dated March 11, 2021, from the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences," Adhikari said.

"Once the election code of conduct ends, the CID investigation will continue... If someone runs a fake campaign, insults the people of Nandigram, conducts a media trial and misleads the people of Bengal, action will be taken against them," he said.

What Happened In Nandigram Five Years Ago

On March 10, 2021, Mamata Banerjee, after filing her nomination at Haldia, decided to return to Nandigram and stay there. In the afternoon, she offered prayers at a temple and attended an event, from where her convoy was headed towards Reyapara via Birulia. En route, near Ghol Pukur, the Trinamool chief was injured while standing on a village road. Banerjee alleged that she was standing in front of her car when four or five people suddenly came, pushed her, and slammed the car door shut against her leg. She stated that she had been offering prayers at a temple while standing in front of her car. She alleged that the attack was a conspiracy.

After the injury, her security personnel gave her first aid, applying ice procured from a nearby shop to her leg. She was then rushed by car to a Kolkata hospital for treatment. A five-member medical board was formed for her treatment at SSKM Hospital. After some days of treatment, she returned to the campaign trail on doctors' advice. She campaigned with a plaster cast on her leg until the end of the election.

Five years later, ahead of the Nandigram by-election, the episode has returned to the spotlight after the Chief Minister announced a probe.

Mamata Banerjee's Camp Hits Back

Kunal Ghosh, a Trinamool MLA loyal to Banerjee amid a split in the party, accused Adhikari of politicising the injury. In a social media post, he shared a photo of her injury and described Adhikari's remarks as unfortunate and in poor taste. He said slandering and spreading propaganda about someone's personal injury was objectionable, adding that the injury was real and the doctors who treated her could attest to it.

"The way he, or those in power in the state government, exploited their control over the hospital allowed them to fabricate whatever narrative they pleased and spread a distorted campaign. However, the doctors who treated her at the time are the ones who know just how serious Mamata Banerjee's leg injury actually was," Ghosh said.

Voting for the bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar in Bengal is to be held on October 6, and counting is scheduled for October 9.