Falta repolls peacefully
Electors of West Bengal's Falta voted peacefully on Thursday with over 86.11 per cent polling till 5 pm in a re-election held under the shadow of TMC candidate Jahangir Khan's dramatic withdrawal from the contest two days earlier, a move widely seen as handing over the ruling BJP a virtual walkover in the politically sensitive constituency.
With Central forces heavily deployed and long queues visible outside booths through the day, the repoll passed off without major incident, though the political shadow over the constituency came less from the voting itself and more from the abrupt exit of Khan.
The repoll stemmed from controversy surrounding the April 29 election, when complaints surfaced from several booths, alleging perfume-like substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs.
The Election Commission of India subsequently ordered a repoll in Falta even as results for the remaining 293 assembly constituencies had already been declared on May 4, with the BJP scripting a historic victory and coming to power in West Bengal for the first time.
Election officials said 86.11 per cent of the 2.36 lakh electorate had cast their votes till 5 pm, marginally lower than the 86.71 per cent recorded till the same hour in the original polling on April 29.
Reacting to the high turnout, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari thanked the people of Falta and said visuals from the constituency resembled a festival.
"From the visuals, it appears people are taking part in a festival. Such a turnout in a repoll is really unprecedented," he said.
Khan's exit significantly altered the political arithmetic around Falta.
The BJP, already projecting confidence of an emphatic victory, sees the constituency as a near-certain addition to its assembly tally after the TMC nominee stepped out of the contest before repolling.
If the BJP wins Falta, its tally for the 2026 Assembly polls would rise to 208, although operationally its Assembly strength would remain 207 following Adhikari's decision to vacate Nandigram after retaining Bhabanipur.
Around 35 companies of central forces guarded the 285 polling booths, while 30 Quick Response Teams remained on standby after the Election Commission significantly strengthened security arrangements for the repoll.
"For the first time in nearly 15 years, I feel I could vote peacefully. Earlier, many people felt they could not vote freely. This time, the atmosphere is different," a voter said, alleging that Jahangir Khan and his associates had exercised overwhelming influence in the area during previous elections.
Officially, six candidates remained in the fray, including BJP's Debanshu Panda, Congress candidate Abdur Razzak and CPI(M)'s Shambhu Kurmi.
