- BJP candidate wins Falta repoll, defeating TMC bastion significantly.
- BJP’s Debangshu Panda secured over 1 lakh votes margin.
- TMC’s Jahangir Khan finished fourth despite campaigning.
BJP candidate Debangshu Panda secured a massive victory in the Falta Assembly repoll on Sunday, breaching a Trinamool Congress bastion and delivering a politically significant setback to the ruling party in the Diamond Harbour belt. Panda defeated CPI(M)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi by more than 1.09 lakh votes, while TMC nominee Jahangir Khan slipped to fourth place despite his name remaining on the ballot. The result has transformed what began as a local repoll into a larger political statement, with the BJP projecting the outcome as evidence of shifting voter sentiment in West Bengal.
TMC Fortress Falls
According to the final figures, Panda secured 1,49,666 votes, while CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi finished second with 40,645 votes. Congress nominee Abdur Razzak Molla came third with 10,084 votes, while TMC’s Jahangir Khan managed only 7,783 votes.
The result marks a dramatic reversal in a constituency that had remained with the TMC since 2011. Falta was long projected by the ruling party as a symbol of its organisational dominance in the influential Diamond Harbour region.
Just days before the repoll, Khan announced he was stepping aside “for Falta’s interest”, although his name remained on the EVMs as withdrawal was no longer possible. He had cited promises of a special development package from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as one of the reasons behind his move. The TMC distanced itself from the decision, calling it a personal choice.
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BJP’s Bigger Message
Reacting to the result, Adhikari said the victory reflected what happened when people were allowed to vote freely. In a post on X, he thanked voters for delivering what he described as a “resounding mandate” to the BJP.
The Falta repoll had attracted statewide attention following allegations of irregularities during the April 29 polling. Complaints emerged over suspicious substances, ink markings and adhesive tapes on EVMs, while alleged attempts to tamper with web-camera footage later prompted the Election Commission to order a repoll in all 285 booths.
Held under heavy security deployment involving around 35 companies of central forces, the May 21 repoll recorded more than 87 per cent voter turnout among the constituency’s 2.36 lakh electorate.
BJP leaders have described the result as the beginning of a wider political rejection of the TMC ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
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