Ghani Khan inside the helicopter. Picture by Surajit Roy

Malda, April 3: Veteran Congress leader and former railway minister A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury fell seriously ill last night after complaining of severe abdominal pain.

He was airlifted by an Indian Air Force helicopter from here to Calcutta, where he was admitted to a nursing home this afternoon.

Sources close to Ghani Khan said earlier in the day, the MP from Malda had been taken to a local private nursing home. He was accompanied by sister Ruby Noor and brother Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury.

Tapan Roy, one of the physicians attending to him and the owner of the nursing home, said the minister?s prognosis was ?not good?.

?We had suggested that he be shifted to Calcutta. He has had two pacemaker implants, his blood pressure is high as is his blood glucose level and he is suffering from multiple illnesses,? Roy said.

As news of the former minister?s illness spread, Congress workers started arriving in groups at the nursing home and as the day progressed, the crowd swelled. The nursing home staff had their hands full in tackling the visitors.

In the meantime, word was sent to defence minister Pranab Mukherjee, who arranged for two air force helicopters from Bagdogra. The choppers arrived around 12.30 pm.

One of the pilots, Ashis Dhyan, said they had to circle over Malda for quite some time, as they were not able to locate the helipad ? a field in the district police lines. He said they were low on fuel and will have to stop at the air force?s base at Panagarh in Burdwan district to refuel before heading towards Calcutta.

A large crowd had turned up at the police lines to see off Ghani Khan. There was a lot of trouble loading his stretcher into the aircraft. A sharp shower made matters worse and Ghani Khan had to be taken to a nearby building to avoid getting drenched.

Eventually, at 2.30 pm, the two helicopters took off. Accompanying the MP were his brother and sister, his personal assistant Tultul Nag and Roy.

With the Assembly elections round the corner, Ghani Khan?s illness has come as a major setback for the Congress. His possible absence from campaigning has left the party?s candidates? in the district worried.

Rampravesh Mondal, the Congress candidate from Manikchak, said: ?With Barkatda ill during the elections, we don?t know what to do?? Similar was the sentiment echoed by Old Malda block Congress president Nabaranjan Sinha: ?People want Barkatda. They will expect him to visit each of the constituencies, asking people to vote for the party. But now we don?t know what will happen.?

On the other front, allegations of breach of the model code of conduct have already been levelled against Ruby Noor and Hashem Khan Chowdhury, Ghani Khan?s siblings and candidates from Sujapur and Kaliachak respectively, for boarding the helicopters.

Jiban Moitra, the district secretary of the CPM, said: ?Right now, we are not complaining because Ghani Khan is sick. But they have boarded state choppers, despite being candidates.?