Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s  left leg was swollen with injuries when she was attacked by four or five unidentified persons on Wednesday evening at Nandigram, after she filed her nomination form for the Assembly elections. She had plans to stay the night in Nandigram after filing her election papers but was taken to a hospital in Kolkata, 130 km away, after the incident.

She was admitted in SSKM hospital in Kolkata yesterday evening, the doctors advised her she will be under the doctor’s observation for 48 hours. After the incident Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (66), said last evening she was pushed by four or five people against her car and had the door shut on her at a time when there were no police personnel around her. Looking pale and pointing to her leg, she said, “See how it is swelling up”. Asked if it was a planned attack, she said, “Of course it is a conspiracy, there were no policemen around me”. She appeared to be in pain while speaking.

As per the SSKM Hospital sources, there were injuries to her foot, shoulder and neck and she had been given painkillers. “Preliminary examination suggests severe bony injuries in her left ankle, foot and bruises, injuries in right shoulder, forearm and neck. The Chief Minister complained of chest pain, breathlessness since the incident. She is kept under close watch for 48 hours,” said the director of SSKM Hospital.

Mamatha Benerjee was taken through a battery of tests including neurological tests and an X-ray of her left leg. Late in the night, she was sent to the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences at SSKM for an MRI. According to sources, she has sustained injuries on lower limbs which are swollen and painful.

The attack took place after a day the Election Commission replaced the Director General of Bengal Police, Virender, amid allegations of violence voiced by the BJP. An IPS officer of the 1987 batch, P Nirajnayan, has been named the new police chief. The Election Commission has asked the Bengal administration for a report by Friday on the attack on the Chief Minister who has Z-Plus security.

The incident intensifies a nerve-wracking political battle in Nandigram, which has become the epicenter of the Mamata Banerjee versus BJP fight that is the theme of the Bengal election starting March 27. The Chief Minister has been challenged in Nandigram by her former aide-turned-BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari. Elections in Bengal will be held in a record eight rounds over 33 days. The results will be declared on May 2.