TMC meltdown continues in Bengal as BJP wrests Falta: 'Trinamool will fight NOTA'

Twenty days after it swept West Bengal for the first time in an electoral battle, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) humbled local powerhouse Trinamool Congress (TMC) once again, in the repolling in the constituency of Falta in South 24 Parganas, where its candidate Debangshu Panda defeated his nearest contender by more than a lakh votes. And that nearest contender was not from the TMC, which finished fourth, after the Left and the Congress.

Also read: Why Falta's May 21 re-poll matters beyond a single Assembly seat

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the TMC won Falta, one of its strong bastions since 2011, by mustering more than 1,17,000 votes and clinching a vote-share of over 56 per cent. In 2026, the party’s candidate, Jahangir Khan, who withdrew from the contest, got around 6,200 votes and a vote share of less than four per cent.

CPI(M) finishes distant second

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi finished second in the May 21 repoll with 40,625 votes and a vote share of 19.34 per cent. The Congress’s Abdur Razzak Molla got around 10,079 votes and a vote share of 4.8 per cent.

CM Adhikari ecstatic

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was elated by the result, posted on X soon after the results were declared, “The notorious ‘Diamond Harbour’ model has turned into the ‘Trinamool’s Loss-Bar’ model!!!” The term “Diamond Harbour model” was made popular by TMC’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, the three-time MP from the port town of Diamond Harbour, under which Falta falls, as a successful template for governance.

State BJP leaders, including the state unit president, Shamik Bhattacharjee, had mocked Abhishek during his pre-repoll campaign in Falta, asking why the latter could not be seen to campaign for his party’s candidate. Both Adhikari and Bhattacharjee had appealed to the local voters to give the BJP a win by more than a lakh votes. The results amused them, undoubtedly.

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“First and foremost, I bow my head in salutation to the people of Falta—the divine masses—who gave a resounding mandate to send Shri Debangshu Pandya, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, to the assembly in the Falta constituency by-election. I am especially grateful to Falta’s voters; I had appealed to them to ensure victory for the BJP’s candidate by a margin of one lakh votes, and the winning margin has crossed one lakh eight thousand. We will repay this debt through development. We are committed to building a golden Falta.

“A party devoid of principles and ideology, which had morphed into a mafia company, has had its skeletal state laid bare upon losing power. By abusing state machinery, this party looted public funds, extorted people’s hard-earned money, and seized it through syndicates and a culture of threats—its leaders had come to see the state as their fiefdom.

“This is just the beginning; now we must traverse the long journey of rejection. In the days ahead, Trinamool Congress leadership faces a tough battle against ‘NOTA’ in elections,” Adhikari said.

'Pushpa Raj has ended'

The Bengal BJP said in a post, “Pushpa Raj has ended with the most beautiful flower blooming in Falta. Diamond Harbour model has crumpled under people’s power…”

The term “Pushpa” became popular in Falta after Jahangir had projected himself as the reel anti-hero who would never bow before the opponents. However, days before the repoll, which the Election Commission ordered after allegations of fraudulent voting practices during the scheduled election on April 29, Jahangir left the battlefield, saying he did it for the sake of the constituency’s development. CM Adhikari said during a rally ahead of the repoll that it was his responsibility to take care of “Pushpa”.

Panda also took a dig at Jahangir after his victory, saying, “‘Pushpa Raj’ has ended. Now common people will rule Falta and there will be development in the state.”

Abhishek Banerjee blasts EC

Abhishek reacted to the Falta result by taking on the EC. He said on X, “The Falta AC repoll counting today exposes glaring inconsistencies. By 3:30 pm in the afternoon today all 21 rounds were completed. On 4th May, till the same time, only 2- 4 rounds had taken place. The country deserves an explanation from the ECI.”

Also read: Where have Modi’s rivals gone? The slow erosion of India’s Opposition

“Although more than 1000 workers from Falta have been forced to flee their homes in the last 10 days the Election Commission continued to turn a blind eye. Party offices were vandalised in broad daylight even when the Model Code of Conduct was in force.”

What experts said before Falta repoll

Although the result of Falta repoll has no significant bearing on the 2026 Assembly elections in Bengal in terms of numbers as it only made the BJP stronger by a seat to take its dominant tally to 208 in an Assembly of 294 (the TMC has 80), the episode nevertheless symbolised for many the speed at which parts of the TMC's local organisational network appeared to be frailing within weeks of losing power in Kolkata, after 15 years.

While one analyst told The Federal before the repoll that Falta gave a clear indication that the political mood underway in Bengal politics is changing, another said the results would indicate whether anti-BJP votes would begin to consolidate behind forces other than Mamata Banerjee's outfit. The supporters of the Left would not be too disappointed to have finished second in the repoll, even though they finished more than a lakh votes behind the BJP.