Falta repoll: BJP leads CPI(M) by 76,000 votes
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Debangshu Panda is leading in the Falta Assembly repolling in West Bengal. After 16 rounds of counting, Panda has a massive lead of over 76,000 votes with a total of 111,270 votes. His nearest rival, Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s Sambhu Nath Kurmi, has only 34,873 votes. The counting process will continue till all 21 rounds are completed on Sunday.
Election update
TMC's Jahangir Khan in 4th place
Jahangir Khan, a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), is currently in fourth place with just 5,319 votes. Notably, Khan had withdrawn from the electoral race two days before the repolling. The TMC has held the Falta constituency since coming to power in West Bengal in 2011, but faced allegations of electoral malpractice during the 2026 Assembly elections.
Repolling reasons
Allegations of electoral malpractice during initial polling
The BJP had accused TMC workers of large-scale electoral malpractice in Falta during the 2026 elections. The Election Commission of India canceled the initial polling process over allegations of voter intimidation and suspected EVM irregularities. Despite these challenges, no senior TMC leaders campaigned for Khan in the lead-up to this repolling.
Political strategy
No senior TMC leaders campaigned for Khan
The absence of senior TMC leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee from campaigning in Falta surprised many observers. This is especially surprising since Falta comes under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat represented by Abhishek. The BJP had won a landslide victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, winning 207 out of 293 declared seats on May 4. They are now eyeing Falta as their next win to take their tally to 208 seats.