The Bharatiya Janata Party has registered a decisive victory in the Falta Assembly constituency, with its candidate Debangshu Panda defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) nominee Sambhu Nath Kurmi by a margin of 1,09,021 votes.
According to the final tally, Panda secured 1,49,666 votes, while Kurmi polled 40,645 votes. Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla received 10,084 votes, and TMC candidate Jahangir Khan, who had earlier withdrawn from the contest, still accounted for 7,783 votes in the count.
The election in the constituency had drawn scrutiny earlier when the Election Commission ordered repolling across all 285 polling stations, including auxiliary booths, on May 2. The decision followed reports of widespread irregularities and disruptions during the April 29 voting.
The contest had already turned politically charged after TMC candidate Jahangir Khan withdrew from the race ahead of polling, citing welfare concerns for the people of Falta, an exit that significantly reshaped the electoral dynamics in the constituency.
Abhishek Banerjee questions 'inconsistencies'
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has questioned the poll outcome in Falta, citing ‘inconsistencies’ in the counting process. He also alleged that TMC workers were forced to leave their homes before election and party offices were attacked in the area.
He also accused the Election Commission of deliberately removing the names from the list ‘in the guise of’ SIR.
“The Falta AC repoll counting today exposes glaring inconsistencies. By 3:30 pm in the afternoon today all 21 rounds were completed. On 4th May, till the same time, only 2- 4 rounds had taken place. The country deserves an explanation from the ECI. Although more than 1000 workers from Falta have been forced to flee their homes in the last 10 days the Election Commission continued to turn a blind eye. Party offices were vandalised in broad daylight even when the Model Code of Conduct was in force,” Banerjee posted on X.
“The Election Commission has taken no action. Instead, the CEO, who was allegedly used by the ECI to delete names under the guise of SIR and manipulate the electoral process, was appointed Chief Secretary of the new WB government at a time when the Model Code of Conduct was still in force in Falta and the polling process had not even been completed,” he added.
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