Kolkata: A new political storm has erupted in West Bengal following a directive from the Election Commission of India invalidating the recent vote in the 144-Falta Assembly constituency and ordering a full-scale repeat of the election across all the 285 polling station, including all auxiliary booths.
The poll body arrived at its decision to hold a complete re-poll in the constituency after determining that the initial vote was plagued by “severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process”.
Voters in the constituency are now required to participate in the repoll between 7 am and 6 pm on May 21. The results will be declared on May 24.
TMC’s Jahangir Khan is pitted against BJP’s Debangshu Panda in Falta.
Earlier on Saturday, locals in the Falta area of South 24 Parganas district held a protest, alleging that Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadres had threatened and intimidated them, voicing concerns about their safety and calling for action against the individuals they claimed were responsible.
The development sparked an immediate and sharp political clash between leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reacting to the announcement, BJP leader Amit Malviya asserted that the “Diamond Harbour model crumbles,” taking direct aim at the TMC’s assertions of strong governance in the area.
Reacting firmly, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee defended his party’s performance and threw a direct challenge at the BJP. In a social‑media post, he claimed that even “ten lifetimes” would not be enough for what he termed a “Bangla Birodhi Gujarati gang” to undermine his “Diamond Harbour model.”
He also challenged BJP leaders to contest from Falta, telling them to “bring everything” and put up their “strongest” candidates if they had the ‘nerve to do so’.
“Ten lifetimes won’t be enough for your Bangla Birodhi Gujarati gang and their stooge Gyanesh Kumar to put even a dent in my DIAMOND HARBOUR MODEL. Bring everything you’ve got. I challenge the entire Union of India—Come to Falta. Send your strongest, send one of the godfathers from Delhi. If you have got the nerve, contest in Falta,” Banerjee said.
This follows the completion of repolling at 15 polling stations in South 24 Parganas, where the two constituencies — Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim — recorded an impressive voter turnout of 90 per cent. The repoll was conducted as per the poll panel directives, after BJP’s West Bengal co‑incharge Amit Malviya claimed that voters in multiple Falta booths under the Diamond Harbour constituency were blocked from voting for the BJP candidate during phase-II polling.
