West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday, 4 October launched a sharp attack on former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the final day of campaigning for the Nandigram Assembly bye-election, reviving the contested narrative around Banerjee's leg injury during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. Adhikari alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government misused the state police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to file an attempt-to-murder case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on the basis of what he called a 'false claim' about the nature of that injury.

The Core Allegation

Mamata Banerjee was injured while campaigning in Nandigram on 10 March 2021 — an incident that triggered a fierce political storm at the time, with the TMC accusing BJP workers of orchestrating an attack. Adhikari, however, claimed on Sunday that government medical records contain no evidence of broken bones from that incident. Holding up what he described as Banerjee's medical report at a press conference on Saturday, he asserted, 'The previous Trinamool government harassed BJP leaders on the basis of completely false allegations. A case of attempt to murder was filed, but there was no evidence of broken bones in the government records.'

In a pointed quip directed at the opposition, Adhikari remarked: 'What if West Bengal observes March 10 as a lie day.' The remark was widely seen as an attempt to consolidate BJP sentiment ahead of polling day.

The Nandigram Bye-Election Context

The Nandigram constituency holds outsized symbolic weight in Bengal politics — it is the seat where Adhikari himself defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections, a result that remains deeply contested. The current bye-election features Hasi Rani Rath as the BJP candidate. Rath is the mother of the late Chandranath Rath, who served as Adhikari's personal assistant. On Sunday, the Chief Minister marched through Nandigram in support of her candidacy and appealed to voters to deliver a margin of victory larger than his own winning margin in the constituency this year.

Warning on False Complaints

Adhikari also signalled legal action once the model code of conduct is lifted after polling. He said that individuals wrongly framed in false cases would be given legal protection, but added a warning: 'If someone deliberately makes a false complaint, there is a provision for punishment in the Indian Penal Code.' Observers read this as a veiled signal toward TMC-era cases filed against BJP workers.

The Minority Vote Question

Adhikari also addressed the issue of minority voting patterns in Nandigram, claiming that the BJP had received almost no minority votes in the constituency across the last three elections. He noted that it remains to be seen whether that pattern would shift in the current bye-election — a comment that underscored the demographic calculation shaping BJP's strategy in the seat.

With polling imminent, the revival of the 2021 injury controversy signals that both the BJP and TMC intend to fight the Nandigram bye-election on deeply personal and emotive terrain — setting the stage for a closely watched result.