Mamata to launch campaign on wheelchair from March 15

Kolkata: Exemplifying a 'never-say-die-attitude,' Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will return to the campaign battlefield on March 15. Despite having suffered 'bony injury' on her left ankle in Nandigram after an 'alleged attack', Banerjee on Thursday said she was ready to campaign on a wheelchair.

Though her left ankle is presently under plaster casing due to bony injury," Banerjee will start a campaign for her party's candidate from Lalgarh and Beliabera in Jhargram on March 15. She will be holding 9 rallies at different constituencies in Jhargram, East and West Mindapore from March 15 to 17 where the polls are scheduled in the first phase.

In a video message from SSKM Hospital, Banerjee on Thursday appealed to everyone to maintain calm and refrain from creating any inconvenience to the people and in the same breath she assured of "returning to the field" within a couple of days.

"I would request all to be calm and remain restrained and not to do anything that will lead to the inconvenience of people. I am hopeful that I will return to the field in the next two to three days. There will be problems with my leg (as it has been fractured), but I will manage. I will not let the scheduled meetings get disturbed though I have to attend the same on wheelchairs. I seek all your cooperation," Banerjee said lying on the hospital bed of SSKM Hospital's Woodburn Ward, a day after she received severe injuries at Birulia village in Nandigram.

She further said: "It is true that yesterday I was badly hurt. There were injuries on my leg. There were bone and ligament injuries. I suffered severe pain in my head and chest. I was greeting people from the car's bonnet. There was a heavy rush. Naturally, there was pressure from the crowd resulting in injuries on my ankle. Immediately, I took medicines that I had and left for Kolkata. Now I am being treated by doctors."

Banerjee's message comes at the time when lakhs of party workers have been staging demonstrations across the state accusing the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to attack the party's chairperson, who is at present the only woman Chief Minister in the country.

Posting a photograph of Banerjee lying on a hospital bed with plaster on her left leg, Trinamool Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee asked BJP to "get ready" to witness outcome on May 2 (the date of poll result). "@BJP4Bengal Brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get READY!!!" he tweeted along with Trinamool Congress Chairperson's photograph.

Re-examining Banerjee's health condition, the six member medical board has stated that her health condition is stable but there "is pain in left foot, persisting with a frontal headache. The hematological investigation revealed hyponatremia." CT Scan and Ultrasonography were done on her on Thursday evening.

The medical board will meet on Friday to decide the next course of treatment, Dr Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, Director of IPGMER & SSKM Hospital said during the evening medical bulletin.

Senior Trinamool Congress leaders including the party's Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien and president of the party's women wing Chandrima Bhattacharya moved to the Election Commission on Thursday and demanded a thorough probe to book the accused at the earliest raising allegation of a deep rooted conspiracy against Banerjee. They raised the question that how come such an incident had happened only after changing the director General of Police and also complaint of a statement of two BJP leaders intimidating of some "unusual situation after March 10".

This comes when BJP attempted to confuse people saying that the Chief Minister received injuries as her car's door was hit against an iron post-installed to check plying on a heavy vehicle on the narrow-concrete road at Birulia. Proving the BJP's claim to be false, Trinamool Congress showed images of the car that had not suffered any scratch on the door. Had it hit the post, it would have signs of damage or scratch. Chatterjee also condemned as neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Union Home Minister Amit Shah has contacted the "only woman Chief Minister" once even out of courtesy.