Falta Election Results LIVE: Can BJP win TMC's bastion after Jahangir Khan's withdrawal? Counting underway

Heavy security has been deployed outside the strong room at Diamond Harbour Women’s University as counting of votes for the Falta Assembly repoll gets underway. Fresh polling was held across all 285 booths in the constituency after allegations of irregularities and EVM tampering during the earlier phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh claimed that the outcome of the Falta election was already evident, saying there was “no real contest” in the constituency. Referring to the political situation in the seat, he alleged that TMC leaders had “backed away” and said the final results would reflect that. Ghosh also praised the Centre over recent employment announcements, stating that 51,000 jobs had been provided without any major complaints.

The Falta Assembly seat was won by the TMC in the 2021 elections, when party candidate Sankar Kumar Naskar defeated the BJP by over 40,000 votes. This time, the constituency recorded an even higher voter turnout of 88.78 per cent, compared to 87.2 per cent in the last Assembly polls. 

Six candidates are contesting the Falta Assembly seat, including TMC’s Jahangir Khan, BJP’s Debangshu Panda, Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla, CPI(M)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi, and Independents Dip Hati and Chandrakanta Roy. Although Jahangir Khan announced his withdrawal before polling, his name remained on the EVM. 

The Falta Assembly seat has become an important battleground for the BJP because it falls under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency represented by Abhishek Banerjee. For years, the area was seen as a strong TMC bastion, but recent political developments, unrest in Falta and Jahangir Khan’s withdrawal have sparked fresh debate over changing political equations in the region.

Despite political tensions and controversy, voters turned out in large numbers during the repoll on May 21. More than 87 per cent of the 2.36 lakh electors cast their votes, according to Election Commission officials.

The Election Commission had cancelled the earlier polling held on April 29 after complaints surfaced from several booths alleging suspicious substances and adhesive materials on EVMs. Questions were also raised over alleged tampering with webcasting footage from polling stations.

Vote counting for the Falta Assembly repoll started at 8 am with tight security in place at the counting centre. Around 35 companies of central forces have been deployed across the constituency following the controversy surrounding the earlier polling process.