BJP candidate Debangshu Panda registered a landslide victory in the repolling held at the Falta Assembly seat in West Bengal on Sunday, May 24, defeating rivals by a margin of 1,09,021 votes and dealing a major blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in what the party has long considered secure political territory.
Panda polled 1,49,666 votes in total. CPI(M) candidate Sambhunath Kurmi came second with 40,645 votes, while Congress candidate Abdur Razzak finished third with 10,084 votes. TMC’s Jahangir Khan who had announced he would not contest, a decision TMC described as personal — managed only 7,783 votes, finishing fourth. The deposits of both the Congress and TMC candidates were forfeited.
Historic low for TMC
According to IANS, the result marks the first time since TMC’s founding in January 1998 that any party candidate has finished fourth in an election. It is also the first time since 2011 when TMC began its 15-year run in power in West Bengal — that a party candidate’s deposit has been forfeited.
BJP reactions
West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote on X: “The notorious ‘Diamond Harbour’ model has turned into the ‘Trinamool’s Loss-Bar’ model!!!”
BJP’s Amit Malviya said: “This is not just an electoral result, it officially marks the collapse of the so-called ‘Diamond Harbour Model’ propagated for years by Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool’s heir apparent.”
The repolling at Falta was conducted on May 21.
West Bengal assembly tally
With the Falta win, BJP’s strength in the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly stands at 208. TMC follows with 80 seats, Congress and Aam Janata Unnayan Party at two each, and CPI(M) and All India Secular Front at one each.