Massive jolt to Abhishek Banerjee: TMC's Jahangir Khan crashes to fourth in Falta
BJP's Debangshu Panda won the repoll by a margin of 1,09,021 votes, securing 1,49,666 votes against CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi's 40,645 votes
- May 24, 2026,
- Updated May 24, 2026 6:14 PM IST
The BJP on Sunday scripted a stunning victory in West Bengal's Falta Assembly constituency, a long-time Trinamool Congress stronghold.
BJP candidate Debangshu Panda won the repoll by a margin of 1,09,021 votes, securing 1,49,666 votes against CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi's 40,645 votes, according to the Election Commission. Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla finished third with 10,084 votes.
The biggest story, however, was the collapse of the Trinamool Congress.
TMC nominee Jahangir Khan, a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee, managed just 7,783 votes and finished fourth. The result marked a dramatic reversal in a constituency that had been a Trinamool bastion for more than two decades.
The scale of the defeat becomes clearer when compared with the last Assembly election. In 2021, TMC's Sankar Kumar Naskar won Falta with 1,17,179 votes, comfortably defeating BJP's Bidhan Parui, who secured around 55,000 votes. Five years later, the party that once dominated the constituency was pushed to fourth place.
The result is politically significant because Falta falls within the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency represented by Abhishek Banerjee and is widely considered part of his political stronghold.
The constituency went to a repoll after the EC scrapped the April 29 election over allegations of EVM tampering and other irregularities. More than 87 per cent of the 2.36 lakh electorate voted in the fresh poll held on May 21.
The setback also comes weeks after the BJP's landslide victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, where the party won 207 seats while the Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80.
Now, the BJP's tally has gone up to 208.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari seized on the result to target both the Trinamool Congress and Abhishek Banerjee.
"The notorious 'Diamond Harbour' model has turned into the 'Trinamool's Loss-Bar' model," Adhikari said in a post on X.
Claiming vindication for his campaign in the constituency, Adhikari said he had appealed to voters to ensure a BJP victory margin of one lakh votes and thanked the electorate after the margin crossed that mark.
"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," he said.
The BJP leader also alleged that Trinamool's dominance in the constituency during previous elections was sustained through the misuse of state machinery and intimidation. "Fifteen years later, when people regained the freedom to cast their votes on their own, the true reality came to light," he said.
Adhikari described the result as the beginning of a longer political decline for the Trinamool Congress, asserting that the verdict had exposed the weakness of the party after losing power in the state.
For the BJP, Falta is more than a bypoll victory. For the Trinamool Congress, it is a reminder of how quickly a former fortress can crumble. Just five years after winning the seat with over 1.17 lakh votes, the party found itself relegated to fourth place in one of the most closely watched contests in Banerjee's political backyard.
The BJP on Sunday scripted a stunning victory in West Bengal's Falta Assembly constituency, a long-time Trinamool Congress stronghold.
BJP candidate Debangshu Panda won the repoll by a margin of 1,09,021 votes, securing 1,49,666 votes against CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi's 40,645 votes, according to the Election Commission. Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla finished third with 10,084 votes.
The biggest story, however, was the collapse of the Trinamool Congress.
TMC nominee Jahangir Khan, a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee, managed just 7,783 votes and finished fourth. The result marked a dramatic reversal in a constituency that had been a Trinamool bastion for more than two decades.
The scale of the defeat becomes clearer when compared with the last Assembly election. In 2021, TMC's Sankar Kumar Naskar won Falta with 1,17,179 votes, comfortably defeating BJP's Bidhan Parui, who secured around 55,000 votes. Five years later, the party that once dominated the constituency was pushed to fourth place.
The result is politically significant because Falta falls within the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency represented by Abhishek Banerjee and is widely considered part of his political stronghold.
The constituency went to a repoll after the EC scrapped the April 29 election over allegations of EVM tampering and other irregularities. More than 87 per cent of the 2.36 lakh electorate voted in the fresh poll held on May 21.
The setback also comes weeks after the BJP's landslide victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, where the party won 207 seats while the Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80.
Now, the BJP's tally has gone up to 208.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari seized on the result to target both the Trinamool Congress and Abhishek Banerjee.
"The notorious 'Diamond Harbour' model has turned into the 'Trinamool's Loss-Bar' model," Adhikari said in a post on X.
Claiming vindication for his campaign in the constituency, Adhikari said he had appealed to voters to ensure a BJP victory margin of one lakh votes and thanked the electorate after the margin crossed that mark.
"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," he said.
The BJP leader also alleged that Trinamool's dominance in the constituency during previous elections was sustained through the misuse of state machinery and intimidation. "Fifteen years later, when people regained the freedom to cast their votes on their own, the true reality came to light," he said.
Adhikari described the result as the beginning of a longer political decline for the Trinamool Congress, asserting that the verdict had exposed the weakness of the party after losing power in the state.
For the BJP, Falta is more than a bypoll victory. For the Trinamool Congress, it is a reminder of how quickly a former fortress can crumble. Just five years after winning the seat with over 1.17 lakh votes, the party found itself relegated to fourth place in one of the most closely watched contests in Banerjee's political backyard.