In a major political development ahead of the Falta Assembly repoll in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Jahangir Khan on Tuesday withdrew his nomination, a big blow to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In the Falta constituency, Khan was set to face Debangshu Panda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Abdur Razzak Molla of the Congress. Sambhu Nath Kurmi of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is also in the fray.
Addressing a press conference, Jahangir Khan said he withdrew from the Falta Assembly repoll in the interest of the people of his constituency. "I am the son of Falta and I want Falta to remain peaceful and progress. Our Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is giving a special package for the development of Falta, which is why I have decided to step away from the repoll process in the constituency," Khan said.
Re-poll in Falta assembly constituency on May 21
The Election Commission has ordered a repoll in all 285 polling booths of the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on May 21. The repoll was ordered due to "severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process" on April 29, when voting in Falta was held in the second phase of the assembly elections.
The Commission said repoll across all the booths, including auxiliary polling stations, will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on May 21, under "stringent security arrangements to ensure a free, fair and transparent" exercise.
Counting of votes for the constituency will take place on May 24.
Falta constituency emerged as a flashpoint in Phase 2 of polling
During the Assembly elections, the Falta constituency emerged as a flashpoint in Phase 2 of polling, with multiple allegations and incidents reported from across booths. Controversy intensified at Debipur (Booth No. 177), where BJP candidate Debangshu Panda and several voters alleged that the BJP button on electronic voting machines (EVMs) had been taped over with white adhesive, preventing voters from selecting the party.
The West Bengal Assembly polls were held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes for the remaining seats is scheduled to be taken up on May 4.
Falta falls in the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is considered to be a bastion of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.
