The BJP on Sunday won the Falta Assembly seat in West Bengal by a margin of more than one lakh votes, taking the party’s strength in the 294-member Assembly to 208 seats following the re-poll ordered in the constituency.
BJP candidate Debangshu Panda defeated CPI(M) nominee Sambhu Nath Kurmi by 1,09,021 votes after voting was held again in the constituency on May 21 amid allegations of irregularities during the second phase of polling on April 29.
The re-poll was conducted under heavy security and recorded a voter turnout of around 88.13 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India.
The Trinamool Congress candidate, Jahangir Khan, finished fourth in the contest after earlier announcing that he was effectively withdrawing from the re-poll and extending support to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s work in the constituency.
Reacting to the result, Panda thanked voters and said the outcome reflected public support for the BJP government in the state.
“People of Falta have showered their blessings on BJP... I want to thank the people of Falta,” he told ANI after the victory.
Also read: Counting of votes in Bengal''s Falta Assembly repoll underway
Security arrangements remained tight around the counting centre at Diamond Harbour Women’s University, with large deployments of security personnel to ensure a smooth counting process.
Ahead of the result, senior BJP leader and West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh had claimed the outcome was a foregone conclusion, alleging that the Trinamool Congress had failed to put up a serious contest.
“The Falta election result is known to everyone; there is no fight. The TMC people fled, and now wait for the result—that too will come,” Ghosh had said during a visit to Kolkata earlier in the day.
The BJP formed its first government in West Bengal earlier this month after securing 207 seats in the Assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in the state.
Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as Chief Minister after the BJP’s victory, while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC was reduced to 80 seats.
The Falta re-poll was among the closely watched post-election contests in the state following complaints of irregularities and violence during the multi-phase Assembly elections.
With the latest result, the BJP has further consolidated its majority in the Assembly, while the opposition parties continue to assess the scale of the party’s electoral gains in the state.
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