BJP candidate Debangshu Panda has surged ahead in the counting of votes for the high-profile Falta Assembly repoll in West Bengal, triggering celebrations among party workers and supporters as trends continued to favour the BJP on Sunday morning.
According to early counting data, Panda established a significant lead over his nearest rivals as counting progressed through multiple rounds under tight security arrangements. Reports said BJP supporters gathered outside counting centres waving party flags, bursting crackers and chanting slogans as the lead margin widened.
The Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas had become one of the most closely watched seats in the state after the Election Commission ordered a complete repoll across all 285 booths following allegations of large-scale electoral irregularities and EVM tampering during the earlier phase of voting held on April 29.
As per live updates, Debangshu Panda crossed a massive early lead against CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi, while Congress candidate Abdul Razzak Molla remained far behind in the initial rounds. Trinamool Congress nominee Jahangir Khan, who had publicly announced his withdrawal from the contest before the repoll, was trailing in fourth position.
Heavy security arrangements were deployed around the counting centre, with central forces and election officials monitoring the process closely to avoid any untoward incident. Election authorities stated that the counting process was progressing peacefully.
The repoll itself witnessed an estimated turnout of over 87 percent on May 21. Many voters had earlier claimed they were able to vote “without fear” during the fresh polling process due to the large deployment of central security forces in the constituency.
Political reactions also started pouring in as trends emerged. West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh claimed that “the result is known to everyone,” suggesting confidence in a BJP victory from the beginning of the counting process.
The Falta seat attracted statewide attention after the Election Commission described the earlier voting process as a “subversion of democratic process” and took the rare decision to conduct a full constituency-wide repoll.
With several rounds of counting still remaining, BJP leaders expressed confidence that Debangshu Panda would secure a decisive victory in the constituency, which had traditionally been considered a Trinamool Congress stronghold.
