BJP candidate Debangshu Panda is set to win the high-stakes Falta assembly seat repoll in West Bengal, securing an unassailable lead of over 91,000 votes against his nearest CPI(M) rival after 18 rounds of counting.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on the verge of a historic victory in the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. As the counting of votes progressed through the afternoon on Sunday, BJP candidate Debangshu Panda established an insurmountable lead, effectively turning the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) bastion into a definitive win for the saffron party.

According to latest data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), after 18 of the scheduled 21 rounds of counting, Panda had secured 1,29,075 votes. His closest challenger, Shambhunath Kurmi of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was trailing far behind with 37,186 votes. The official announcement is expected shortly as counting approaches its final stage under heavy security deployment.

Turning a TMC fortress around

The emerging result marks a significant political shift in South 24 Parganas, a district long considered an unbreachable stronghold for the ruling Trinamool Congress. The BJP has never previously won the Falta assembly seat. In the 2021 assembly elections, the TMC had comfortably retained the seat with a margin of nearly 40,000 votes.

Local political observers note that the current trends indicate a deep consolidation of anti-TMC votes behind the BJP candidate Debangshu Panda. Outside the counting centre at Diamond Harbour Women’s University, early celebrations broke out among BJP workers who distributed sweets and raised slogans as the margins widened with each consecutive round.

Dramatic exit of TMC candidate

The electoral arithmetic in Falta shifted drastically just days before the repoll when Trinamool Congress nominee Jahangir Khan publicly announced his withdrawal from the contest. Speaking at a press conference on May 19, Khan stated he was stepping aside in the interest of local development following financial packages announced by the state administration.

However, because the formal window for withdrawing nominations had already closed, Khan’s name and the TMC party symbol remained physically present on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The Trinamool leadership subsequently distanced itself from his remarks, terming it a personal decision rather than an official party line. Despite pulling out of active campaigning, Khan has received over 5,700 votes so far, placing him a distant fourth behind Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla.

Why full repolling was ordered

The counting on Sunday follows an unprecedented directive by the Election Commission to conduct a full repoll across all 285 polling stations in the constituency. Voting was originally held on April 29 during the second phase of the state assembly elections. However, the polling process was severely compromised following widespread allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation.

The BJP and opposition parties had lodged major complaints, alleging that adhesive tape and perfume-like substances were used to block or obscure the BJP symbol button on EVMs in multiple booths. A subsequent investigation by election observers found evidence of physical tampering in at least 60 booths, alongside coordinated attempts to disrupt or disconnect the web cameras installed for live monitoring. Citing a severe subversion of the democratic process, the EC countermanded the initial vote.

Record voter turnout at booths

The repoll, which took place on May 21, was held under rigorous institutional oversight. To prevent a repeat of the April 29 violence, the Election Commission deployed nearly 35 companies of central paramilitary forces to guard the polling booths and secure the perimeter.

Defying the underlying tension, voters turned out in large numbers. The final voter turnout for the repoll stood at 88.13%, which was nearly 2% higher than the 86.71% recorded during the disrupted voting on April 29. Local authorities confirmed that the polling process remained entirely peaceful with no major incidents of violence reported from any section of the constituency.

Reshaping South 24 Parganas politics

The decisive lead for the BJP candidate Debangshu Panda carries implications beyond Falta. The South 24 Parganas district comprises 31 assembly seats and has historically acted as a foundational pillar for TMC's majorities in the state assembly.

While the TMC retained several of its key pockets in the district during previous cycles, the BJP’s breakthrough in Falta follows a pattern of steady gains in neighboring areas like Sagar, Kakdwip, Gosaba, and parts of urban South 24 Parganas. With the final rounds of counting winding down, the counting center remains under a strict three-tier security blanket as election officials prepare to hand over the formal victory certificate.