A fresh political storm has erupted in West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a massive victory in the Falta assembly re-poll by more than one lakh votes. BJP candidate Debangshu Panda defeated CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi and Congress candidate Abdul Razzak Molla in the high-profile contest. The re-poll was conducted across all 285 booths in Falta after the Election Commission scrapped the earlier April 29 voting over allegations of EVM tampering and irregularities. More than 87 percent voter turnout was recorded during the fresh polling held on May 21 under heavy central security deployment.
Abhishek Banerjee Raises Concerns
Following the results, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee questioned the speed of the counting process and accused the Election Commission of serious inconsistencies. He claimed that while only a few counting rounds were completed by 3:30 pm during the original election counting on May 4, all 21 rounds in Falta were completed by the same time during the re-poll counting. Banerjee also alleged that over 1,000 TMC workers were forced to flee their homes, party offices were vandalised, and opposition counting agents were removed from the counting venue. He demanded an independent CCTV audit of the counting process.
BJP's Response
Meanwhile, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari hit back at the TMC, calling the Falta result the “beginning of rejection” for the ruling party in Bengal. He accused the TMC of throttling democracy and misusing state machinery. The Falta re-poll has now become the latest flashpoint in the escalating political battle between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress ahead of upcoming elections in West Bengal.
