Results for the Falta Assembly repoll in West Bengal have been declared, with BJP candidate Debangshu Panda winning by a significant margin of 1,09,021 votes. Panda secured 1,49,666 votes, while CPI(M) candidate Sambhunath Kurmi came second with 40,645 votes. Congress candidate Abdur Razzak secured 10,084 votes, placing third, and Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan ended fourth with 7,783 votes. Both Congress and Trinamool Congress candidates lost their deposits.
The Falta repoll results are notable for two reasons. It marks the first time in the history of elections since the establishment of Trinamool Congress in 1988 that a party candidate finished fourth. Additionally, it is the first instance since 2011 that a candidate had their deposit forfeited, ending the 34-year Left Front regime and beginning the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule. The repoll in Falta took place on May 21.
Debangshu Panda’s victory in Falta brings BJP’s total to 208 seats out of 294 in the West Bengal Assembly, with Trinamool Congress at 80, Congress and Aam Janata Unnayan Party at two each, and CPI(M) and All India Secular Front at one each. This outcome contrasts sharply with previous results in Falta, both in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress’ Shankar Kumar Nashkar won from Falta by 41,000 votes. Falta is part of the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, represented thrice by Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Falta gave Banerjee a lead of around 1,20,000 votes, criticized by opposition parties as a mockery of the polling process.
The Falta Assembly constituency faced polling issues on April 29, with reports of electoral malpractices. EVM buttons corresponding to BJP candidates were covered with tape at some booths, leading to voter unrest allegedly by Jahangir Khan’s supporters. Following an inquiry by special poll observer Subrata Gupta, the Election Commission of India ordered a repoll across the entire Falta Assembly constituency.
