Bengal Election: Injured Mamata On Feet For National Anthem As Poll Campaign Concludes

Mamata Banerjee poll campaign ends: With one foot on the floor and the other injured one taking support of her wheelchair, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee stood up for the national anthem on Tuesday, as her high-stakes poll campaign for the upcoming West Bengal assembly election drew to a conclusion.

This was the first time the Chief Minister was spotted standing up in public since being wheelchair-ridden after the alleged attack against her on March 10 in Nandigram. She was visiting the constituency to file her nomination for the election. Read more about the injury here.

On March 30, she closed her campaign in Nandigram, whose seat sees her engaged in battle with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Suvendhu Adhikari. Nandigram goes to polls in the second phase of the election, beginning April 1.

Watch a video of Banerjee standing for the anthem

Mamata Banerjee on her feet for the first time since March 10 after she injured her feet. She said she will stand with support from her party workers while singing the national anthem as she ends her campaign in #Nandigram pic.twitter.com/dCRS26OPDX

Mamata Banerjee on her feet for the first time since March 10 after she injured her feet. She said she will stand with support from her party workers while singing the national anthem as she ends her campaign in #Nandigram pic.twitter.com/dCRS26OPDX

— Indrajit Kundu | ইন্দ্রজিৎ - কলকাতা (@iindrojit) March 30, 2021

Mamata Banerjee Poll Campaign Ends With Her Standing Up From Wheelchair

Banerjee's wheelchair-bound election rallies have been at the centre of several high points of the election season in Bengal this year. Senior TMC leaders, demanding a probe into the Nandigram injury incident, had named the opposition saffron party behind the attack. The case is currently being investigated by the CID.

After promising to lead her poll rally in a wheelchair post-injury, Banerjee had remarked she was banking on the "mothers and daughters" of Bengal to lead her cause. "An injured tigress is more dangerous. I will play with one leg only with the support of the two legs of my daughters and mothers."

Amid intensifying political stakes, BJP's Dilip Ghosh came under fire for suggesting Banerjee should switch her saree for 'Bermuda shorts' if she wished to show her injured legs.

The Nandigram seat holds relevance for both contenders Adhikari and Banerjee since it marked their full-fledged influential entry into Bengal politics that led to the TMC's win in 2011. While the BJP plays on the 'son of the soil' card, labelling Banerjee as an 'outsider' in the area, the TMC chief has called for boosting female power with her poll slogan 'Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye' .

Highlights from the party manifestos of TMC and BJP here.