Suvendu Adhikari warns Mamata over Nandigram 2021 injury claim
Synopsis
West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari has turned a legal notice from Mamata Banerjee's lawyers over a leaked medical report into a political grenade — warning that if she presses the 2021 Nandigram injury claim, he will release X-ray and MRI evidence that, he alleges, shows no fracture ever existed. The row erupts just as bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar are counted on 9 October.
Key Takeaways
CM Suvendu Adhikari warned Mamata Banerjee on 5 October 2026 not to pursue her 2021 Nandigram leg-injury claim further.
Banerjee's counsel sent legal notices to doctors at S.S.K.M.
Medical College and Bangur Institute of Neurosciences over alleged unauthorised disclosure of her medical report.
Adhikari cited a Bangur Institute radiodiagnosis report dated 11 March 2021 stating no fracture was found in Banerjee's limb.
Adhikari alleged Banerjee filed FIRs against BJP leaders blaming them for the fracture during the 2021 elections .
Banerjee lost Nandigram to Adhikari by under 2,000 votes in 2021, later retaining the Chief Ministership via the Bhabanipur bypoll .
A separate investigation is reportedly planned after bypoll results for Nandigram and Rejinagar are declared on 9 October .
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday, 5 October 2026, cautioned his predecessor and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee against pressing her claims over the leg injury she reportedly sustained during the 2021 Assembly election campaign in Nandigram, warning that doing so could deepen her political embarrassment.
What Triggered the Escalation
The latest round of the long-running dispute was set off after Mamata Banerjee's legal counsel sent notices on Monday to three senior doctors attached to state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital and the state-run Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, both in South Kolkata. The notices challenged the alleged disclosure of a medical report concerning the former Chief Minister without her consent.
Adhikari's Warning and the Medical Report
Responding sharply to the legal notice, Adhikari said the matter could only hurt Banerjee further. 'I will request her not to dig into the matter further. If I start showing the X-ray and MRI reports now, she won’t be able to leave the house,' he told reporters in Kolkata on Monday.
On the preceding Saturday, Adhikari had cited a radiodiagnosis report from the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences dated 11 March 2021, which, he claimed, indicated no sign of fracture in the former Chief Minister's limb at the time. On Monday he added that, if required, he would disclose how he obtained the report.
BJP's Counter-Narrative on 2021 Polls
Adhikari also alleged that Mamata Banerjee had filed First Information Reports (FIRs) against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, holding them responsible for her leg fracture, and accused her of trying to leverage the injury politically heading into the 2021 elections. 'She thought that she would come back to power as Chief Minister for the fourth term. But that did not happen. She herself had left behind a lot of important papers in her office drawer. She could not take away all the papers,' he alleged.
Background: Nandigram 2021 and Its Aftermath
The dispute traces back to the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, when Mamata Banerjee chose to contest from Nandigram — the constituency of her once-trusted aide turned BJP rival, Adhikari. She reportedly sustained a leg injury during campaigning and completed the campaign in a wheelchair with a plaster cast. She lost the Nandigram seat to Adhikari by a margin of just under 2,000 votes.
Despite the Nandigram defeat, Banerjee subsequently won a bypoll from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, allowing her to retain the Chief Ministership for a third consecutive term.
Bypolls and What Comes Next
The row also has an immediate electoral backdrop. Adhikari said on Saturday that a separate investigation into related matters would be initiated after results of bypolls for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies are declared on 9 October — a day after Tuesday's polling. The timing suggests the BJP intends to press the issue as a political lever, win or lose in the bypolls.
Point of View
A question the legal notices are actually designed to surface. If the courts engage with that question seriously, the political optics could reverse quickly. The story beneath the story is not the injury — it is institutional accountability at state-run hospitals.
NationPress
5 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the 2021 Nandigram injury claim back in the news?
The dispute resurfaced after Mamata Banerjee's lawyers sent legal notices to doctors at S.S.K.M. Medical College and Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, challenging the alleged unauthorised release of her medical report. CM Suvendu Adhikari responded by warning Banerjee against escalating the matter, claiming he possesses X-ray and MRI evidence that contradicts her injury narrative.
What does the Bangur Institute report cited by Adhikari say?
Adhikari cited a radiodiagnosis report from the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences dated 11 March 2021, which he says shows no sign of fracture in Mamata Banerjee's limb at the time of the 2021 election campaign in Nandigram. He has said he will disclose how he obtained the report if legally required to do so.
What happened in Nandigram during the 2021 Assembly elections?
Mamata Banerjee contested the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election from Nandigram against Suvendu Adhikari. She reportedly sustained a leg injury during campaigning and appeared at rallies in a wheelchair with a plaster cast. She lost the seat to Adhikari by a margin of under 2,000 votes, though she later retained the Chief Ministership by winning a bypoll from Bhabanipur.
Who are the doctors served with legal notices?
Three senior doctors attached to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital and the state-run Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, both in South Kolkata, were served notices by Banerjee's legal counsel challenging the disclosure of her medical report without consent.
What is the connection between this row and the upcoming bypolls?
Bypolls for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal are scheduled, with results due on 9 October 2026. Adhikari has said a separate investigation into related matters will be initiated after the results are declared, linking the political controversy directly to the electoral contest in Nandigram.
