‘No evidence of fracture’: Why CM Suvendu Adhikari is probing Mamata Banerjee’s 2021 leg injury
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced a fresh inquiry into Mamata Banerjee’s leg injury during the 2021 Assembly election campaign, citing a medical report that he said found no evidence of a fracture.
Adhikari, speaking at the state secretariat Nabanna on Saturday, claimed that a March 11, 2021 report from the Department of Radio Diagnosis at the state-run Bangur Institute of Neurosciences showed no evidence of a fracture in Banerjee’s leg.
Displaying what he identified as the medical report, Adhikari alleged that Banerjee had staged or misrepresented the injury during the 2021 campaign in Nandigram.
He said the state CID was already examining the matter and that a fresh government inquiry would begin after the Model Code of Conduct is lifted following the October 9 by-election results.
“The CID is investigating the matter, and I will not divulge more details,” Adhikari said, according to PTI.
He also alleged that the incident had been used to mislead people in West Bengal and resulted in extensive media coverage during the election campaign.
What happened to Mamata Banerjee in 2021?
Banerjee was injured on March 10, 2021, while campaigning in the Nandigram area of Birulia Bazaar. She sustained injuries to her left leg and waist.
At the time, Banerjee initially said that unidentified people had deliberately pushed her against the open door of her vehicle amid a large crowd. In a subsequent video message from hospital, she described the crowd pressing against her vehicle while she was greeting supporters.
She was taken to Kolkata and admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital. According to the medical assessment reported at the time, she had bone and ligament injuries to her left ankle and foot, along with bruising and pain affecting her right shoulder, forearm, neck and waist.
Banerjee was discharged on March 12 with her left foot in a cast and subsequently campaigned from a wheelchair.
Political controversy resurfaces
The injury became a major political issue during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, particularly because Banerjee was contesting from Nandigram against Adhikari, who had left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP.
Adhikari revived the issue at a rally in Nandigram on Friday, at the same location where Banerjee was injured five years earlier. He repeated his allegations on Saturday while announcing the proposed inquiry.
The latest claims concern the interpretation of the medical documentation. Adhikari has cited the reported absence of evidence of a fracture, while the medical history released after the incident described bone and ligament injuries to the ankle and foot. The supplied report does not establish, by itself, whether Banerjee's overall injuries were genuine or whether the incident was deliberately staged.
2021 election backdrop
The controversy comes against the backdrop of the closely contested 2021 West Bengal Assembly election. The Trinamool Congress won 216 of the 294 seats, while the BJP won 77.
Banerjee retained the chief minister's post despite losing the Nandigram constituency to Adhikari. She later returned to the state Assembly after winning the Bhabanipur by-election.
The proposed inquiry is expected to revisit the circumstances surrounding the March 2021 incident and the medical records associated with Banerjee's treatment.