- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sun, 24 May 2026 06:04 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bharatiya Janata Party's Debangshu Panda registered a dominating victory in West Bengal's Falta assembly reelection by a margin of 1,09,021 votes.
Fata, a TMC stronghold held by former MLA Jahangir Khan, was marred by irregularities during the assembly elections, prompting the Election Commission to order a repoll.
However, just two days before repolling, Khan pulled out of the race, citing announcements by CM Suvendu Adhikari for the assembly. The TMC alleged that Khan's decision was his personal and did not reflect the party's intent. The Mamata-led party also alleged a BJP was putting pressure.
Since the date for withdrawing the nominations had passed, Khan's name remained on the EVMs despite his decision not to contest.
Jahangir gets 7,783 votes
Panda was followed by CPI(M)'s Sambhu Nath Kurmi and Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla. Khan, despite his public announcement of withdrawal, settled at fourth position with 7,783 votes.
ALSO READ: Falta Re-Poll: BJP’s Debangshu Panda Takes Commanding Lead In Early Rounds
Panda secured a total of 1,49,666 votes while CPI(M)'s Kurmi got 40,645 votes. Congress's Molla got 10,084 votes.
Mamata-led TMC had held the seat continuously since 2011. In 2021, the party won the seat with around 57 per cent of the votes polled.
Falta repoll
The Falta repoll was conducted on May 21 across all 285 booths in the constituency under heavy central force deployment after the Election Commission ordered fresh voting following allegations of large-scale irregularities during the April 29 polling.
The seat also became a hotspot in Bengal politics when IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma was deployed as a poll observer in Falta.
ALSO READ: Falta Repoll Sees Over 85% Turnout With Peaceful Voting; BJP Eyes Gains After Jahangir Khan’s Exit
Popularly known as "Singham", a video of Sharma warning against irregularities has gone viral before the April 29 polling. Reacting to Sharma's super cop image, Khan had called himself Pushpa, who never bows down. He emerged as one of the most recognised faces in the elections.
(With PTI Inputs)