BJP takes huge lead in Bengal's Falta Assembly repoll, Trinamool not in fray
The counting of votes for the Falta assembly repolling has begun, and as expected, BJP candidate Debangshu Panda has secured a handsome lead of over
The counting of votes for the Falta assembly repolling has begun, and as expected, BJP candidate Debangshu Panda has secured a handsome lead of over 44,000 votes after the first eleven rounds. The counting is underway, and a total of 21 rounds will be counted on Sunday. After the tenth round of counting in Falta, Panda is cruising with 72,082 votes, far ahead of his nearest rival – CPI(M)'s Sambhu Nath Kurmi, who has 27,191 votes. Read Full Story Jahangir Khan, considered a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee and associated with the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), slipped to the fourth position after the sixth round, managing only 3,870 votes. Interestingly, he had pulled himself out of the electoral race just two days before the repolling.
WHY FALTA HAD TO UNDERGO A REPOLL? Falta has traditionally remained a stronghold of the TMC since the party came to power in West Bengal in 2011. However, during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, multiple booths in the constituency came under scrutiny following allegations of electoral irregularities. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had accused ruling party workers of large-scale electoral malpractice in the area. The Election Commission of India had cancelled the earlier polling process following allegations of voter intimidation, suspected EVM irregularities and procedural violations reported from multiple booths. Following the party’s electoral setback, there was speculation that the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) would make aggressive efforts to revive its cadre base in Falta, a constituency traditionally considered one of the party’s strongholds since 2011.
However, in the lead-up to polling, no senior TMC leader campaigned for candidate Jahangir Khan. Neither Mamata Banerjee nor Abhishek Banerjee addressed rallies in the constituency. This came as a surprise as Falta falls under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat represented by Abhishek, who is widely regarded as the party’s second-in-command. Jahangir Khan had earlier grabbed headlines after openly challenging IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, who was brought in from Uttar Pradesh as a poll observer ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Known for his image as an “encounter specialist”, Sharma is often referred to as “Singham” — a nickname that followed him to West Bengal as well. Responding to the comparison, Khan had styled himself as “Pushpa”, inspired by Allu Arjun’s popular character from the film Pushpa: The Rise.
“If he is Singham, then I am Pushpa,” Khan had remarked after Sharma reportedly visited his residence before polling and warned his family members against intimidating voters on election day. The BJP, following a sweeping victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections by winning 207 of the 293 declared seats on May 4, is now looking to add Falta as its 208th seat. Ends
The BriefWire