West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | High turnout marks peaceful Falta repoll; BJP eyes virtual walkover after Jahangir exit

Kolkata: Electors of West Bengal's Falta voted peacefully on Thursday with over 86.11 per cent polling till 5 pm in a re-election held under the shadow of TMC candidate Jahangir Khan's dramatic withdrawal from the contest two days earlier, a move widely seen as handing over the ruling BJP a virtual walkover in the politically sensitive constituency.

With central forces heavily deployed and long queues visible outside booths through the day, the repoll passed off without major incident, though the political shadow over the constituency came less from the voting itself and more from the abrupt exit of Khan.

The repoll stemmed from controversy surrounding the April 29 election, when complaints surfaced from several booths, alleging perfume-like substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs.

The Election Commission subsequently ordered a repoll in Falta even as results for the remaining 293 assembly constituencies had already been declared on May 4, with the BJP scripting a historic victory and coming to power in West Bengal for the first time.

Election officials said 86.11 per cent of the 2.36 lakh electorate had cast their votes till 5 pm, marginally lower than the 86.71 per cent recorded till the same hour in the original polling on April 29.

Reacting to the high turnout, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari thanked the people of Falta and said visuals from the constituency resembled a festival.

"From the visuals, it appears people are taking part in a festival. Such a turnout in a repoll is really unprecedented," he said.

Khan's exit significantly altered the political arithmetic around Falta.

The BJP, already projecting confidence of an emphatic victory, sees the constituency as a near-certain addition to its assembly tally after the TMC nominee stepped out of the contest before repolling.

If the BJP wins Falta, its tally for the 2026 Assembly polls would rise to 208, although operationally its Assembly strength would remain 207 following Adhikari's decision to vacate Nandigram after retaining Bhabanipur.

The total electorate in the constituency comprises 1,21,300 men, 1,15,135 women and nine third-gender individuals. Voting began at 7 am and continued till 6 pm.

Around 35 companies of central forces guarded the 285 polling booths, while 30 Quick Response Teams remained on standby after the Election Commission significantly strengthened security arrangements for the repoll.

"Polling has remained peaceful in Falta. We have not received a single report of any problem from anywhere in the constituency," a poll panel official told PTI.

Large numbers of voters queued outside polling stations from early morning in a constituency where the campaign had undergone a dramatic transformation over the last fortnight.

Among those waiting outside polling booths, some said the atmosphere felt markedly different this time.

"For the first time in nearly 15 years, I feel I could vote peacefully. Earlier, many people felt they could not vote freely. This time, the atmosphere is different," a voter said, alleging that Jahangir Khan and his associates had exercised overwhelming influence in the area during previous elections.

Officially, six candidates remained in the fray, including BJP's Debanshu Panda, Congress candidate Abdur Razzak and CPI(M)'s Shambhu Kurmi.

Politically, the contest changed complexion on Tuesday when TMC nominee Jahangir Khan -- among the most controversial and visible faces of the Falta campaign -- announced he would not contest the repoll.

The move stunned sections within the TMC and transformed a constituency already burdened by allegations of electoral malpractice into a fresh theatre of political irony.

Khan, who cultivated a self-styled "Pushpa" image of political defiance in Falta, had long projected himself as a leader unwilling to blink. His decision to step out of the contest before repolling, therefore, added a layer of political irony to a constituency already burdened by controversy.

Khan later said he had stepped aside in Falta's interest and cited Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's promise of a special development package as a factor behind his decision.

The TMC, however, quickly distanced itself from Khan's move, calling it his "personal decision" and alleging a climate of intimidation and post-poll pressure in the constituency.

Earlier, Adhikari had mocked Khan for "running away", claiming he had realised he would not find polling agents on the ground, while the BJP candidate on Thursday asserted that people of Falta had "got freedom".

"Women are coming out and voting. People are seeing what voting actually looks like. I am confident of a victory," Panda claimed while touring booths.

Beyond the controversy, Falta has acquired significance beyond a single Assembly constituency as it falls within the Diamond Harbour parliamentary belt represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

For years, the region had been projected by sections within the party as a successful organisational and political model. But developments over the past fortnight -- from BJP's gains in parts of Diamond Harbour to Falta's turbulence and Khan's withdrawal -- have triggered fresh political chatter over shifts in a landscape once considered politically impregnable.