He announced that the state government would investigate the matter and said further steps would be disclosed once the by-election concludes. 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.
She lost the Nandigram seat but led the party to a sweeping victory. The BJP finally won the state this year. Five years later, ahead of the Nandigram by-election, the episode has returned to the spotlight after the Chief Minister announced a probe.
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. “Once the election code of conduct ends, the CID investigation will continue… 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
