West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was allegedly attacked on Wednesday, hours after she filed her nomination to contest from the Nandigram Assembly seat.
Preliminary medical tests conducted on Banerjee detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said.
Here's how political leaders and social media reacted to the incident:
DMK president M K Stalin criticised the alleged attack on Banerjee, saying it was "an assault on Indian democracy".
"The shameful attack on Mamata Banerjee is an assault on Indian democracy. The perpetrators of such a crime should be brought to justice immediately. Election Commission of India and the police dept should take stringent action to avoid such instances in the future," Stalin tweeted.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, too, condemned the attack on Banerjee, saying those responsible should be immediately arrested and punished.
Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, too, joined in to wish Banerjee a speedy recovery.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, on Thursday, challenged the BJP over an alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. He said, "BJP, brace yourselves to see the power of people of Bengal on Sunday, May 2nd."
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren tweeted: "Concerned & disturbed to know about the foot injury & hospitalisation of Mamata Didi during her election campaign in Nandigram. A high level investigation should be conducted to identify those behind this incident & punished. I wish her a speedy and healthy recovery."
However, the BJP claimed the 'attack' was a drama move by Banerjee to garner sympathy, and cited eyewitness accounts to claim that her injury stemmed from an accident, rather than assault.
Netizens, however, jumped at the opportunity to flood Twitter with memes and jokes. Here's a look at them: