BJP Secures Landslide Victory In Falta Re-Elections In West Bengal By Margin Of More Than 1 Lakh Votes

Falta: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday secured a landslide victory in re-elections held in West Bengal's Falta Assembly constituency. BJP candidate Debangshu Panda defeated his closest rival by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes.

Debangshu secured a total of 1,49,666 votes. Trailing him was CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi, who got 40,645 votes. He was followed by Congress leader Abdul Razzak Molla, who secured a total of 10,084 votes.

As many as 784 voters votes for NOTA.

Notably, TMC candidate for Falta, Jahangir Khan, had withdrawn his nomination before the election, refusing to contest.

Jahangir Khan had stepped down from the race two days prior to the repoll, citing a promise from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to provide a special development package for the region.

Khan said, “I would want Falta to stay peaceful, healthy, and good. And I want more and more development for Falta. So let there be a Golden Falta, that was my dream. That's why our Chief Minister is giving a special package for the development of Falta. For that reason, I am withdrawing from the upcoming repoll contest on May 21.”

While Jahangir Khan publicly claimed he withdrew because of the Chief Minister's promises of a "special package" for Falta, TMC has distanced itself from the decision, terming it a personal choice made under "pressure".

The repoll in Falta was ordered after irregularities were reported during polling in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, which were held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. BJP's Debangshu Panda had alleged that at Falta's booth number 177, the EVM button corresponding to the BJP candidate had been obstructed with adhesive tape. After central security forces arrived and cleared the tape, the voting process was allowed to continue.

Subsequently, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT cell, posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) alleging that white adhesive tape had been used to obscure the party's symbol at booth numbers 144 and 189 in Falta. Citing these irregularities, he called for an immediate re-poll in the constituency.

Thereafter, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered a re-polling.

The repolling, which was held this Thursday, saw a high voter turnout, with approximately 87.85% of the 2.36 lakh eligible electors casting their ballots.