The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the Falta assembly repoll in West Bengal, with its candidate Debangshu Panda winning by a margin of over one lakh votes. The counting was held on Sunday for the repoll that took place on May 21.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Panda garnered 149,666 votes, while his closest rival, Sambhu Nath Kurmi of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), finished a distant second with 40,645 votes.
With this victory, the BJP's tally in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly returns to 207 seats. The party had originally won 207 seats in the general election, but Suvendu Adhikari, now the state's first BJP chief minister, vacated his Nandigram seat and retained Bhabanipore, where he had defeated Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee.
Falta Victory: A Significant Achievement
The Falta victory is a major boost for the BJP, not only because the constituency was a TMC stronghold but also due to the circumstances leading up to this win. The constituency falls under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat in South 24 Parganas district, represented in Parliament by TMC's number two, Abhishek Banerjee.
Diamond Harbour Model Fails
The TMC had won Falta in three consecutive assembly elections (2011, 2016, and 2021). Diamond Harbour has been represented by Abhishek Banerjee, who won three successive general elections from the constituency (2014, 2019, and 2024) with increasing vote shares of 40%, 56%, and 68%, respectively. On May 2, two days before the counting of votes in West Bengal, Abhishek challenged the "Union of India" to "even put a dent in my Diamond Harbour model." He also made allegedly provocative speeches during the campaign.
Following the TMC's defeat, his security cover was reduced by the new BJP-led government. Additionally, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), led by mayor Firhad Hakim (a senior TMC leader), issued notices to 17 properties linked to Abhishek over alleged building violations and unauthorized constructions.
'Singham' vs 'Pushpa' Battle
An intriguing subplot involved TMC strongman and its Falta candidate Jahangir Khan, and Uttar Pradesh-cadre police officer Ajay Pal Sharma, who was sent to West Bengal as a police observer by the ECI. Sharma was dubbed "Singham" by the media after the character played by Ajay Devgn in the "Singham" films. After a viral video showed Sharma warning Khan's family, the TMC leader called himself "Pushpa" after the character played by Allu Arjun.
'Pushpa' Withdraws
In a development that foreshadowed the result, Khan withdrew from the contest two days before the election, claiming that Chief Minister Adhikari had assured a "special package" for the constituency. However, the announcement came amid FIRs against Khan, prompting him to seek and obtain protection from arrest from the Calcutta High Court. The move also came two days after Adhikari remarked that he would "personally handle" Khan's case. Despite the withdrawal, Khan's name remained on the voting machines as the deadline for withdrawing nominations had passed. He finished fourth in the repoll with just 7,783 votes in a six-person contest, besides the NOTA option.
Why Was the Repoll Held?
The ECI ordered a repoll in all 285 voting booths in Falta due to allegations of large-scale irregularities on April 29, the second and final phase of the elections. In several booths, tapes were found stuck over the names of BJP candidates on the voting machines.
