'Where's Pushpa?' TMC's Jahangir Khan exits race ahead of crucial repoll in Falta 

Jahangir Khan, a close aide of Abhishek Banerjee, announced on Tuesday that he would no longer contest elections, triggering a fresh political storm in West Bengal just two days before repolling in the Falta Assembly constituency.

The development prompted immediate attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which questioned whether the Trinamool Congress's much-publicised "Diamond Harbour Model" had collapsed under closer electoral scrutiny.

"The re-poll is on the 21st. Yet, Abhishek Banerjee's trusted lieutenant, Jehangir 'Pushpa' Khan, has suddenly pulled out of the contest," BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya wrote on X.

"What happened to the infamous 'Diamond Harbour Model'? Did the model collapse the moment voters were finally given a fair chance to speak?" he asked.

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Falta, part of the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency represented by Abhishek Banerjee, has turned into a high-profile battleground after the Election Commission scrapped polling there, citing "severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process".

While results for 293 Assembly seats were declared on May 4, voting in Falta was cancelled after allegations of voter intimidation, EVM tampering and booth-level irregularities surfaced.

The EC also cited inadequate CCTV footage, saying it was impossible to verify whether polling had been conducted fairly. 

Notably, no senior Trinamool Congress leader campaigned in Falta ahead of the repoll, a point repeatedly raised by the BJP during the campaign.

West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya publicly questioned Abhishek Banerjee's absence from the constituency. 

Suvendu Adhikari also mocked Jahangir Khan during campaigning, asking: "Where's Pushpa?"

The "Pushpa" reference dates back to Khan's public remarks targeting IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, who had been appointed poll observer before the elections. 

Known for his "Singham" image, Sharma had visited Khan's residence before polling and reportedly warned family members against intimidating voters.

Khan responded at the time by saying: "If he is Singham, then I am Pushpa."

Ahead of the original May 4 counting, Abhishek Banerjee had also defended his political turf aggressively.

"Even in ten lifetimes, the Bangla Birodhi Gujarati gang and their stooge Gyanesh Kumar could not put even a dent in my DIAMOND HARBOUR MODEL," he said. "Bring everything you've got. I challenge the entire Union of India."

The Falta seat has remained with the All India Trinamool Congress since 2011. Tamonash Ghosh won the seat in 2011 and 2016, while Shankar Kumar Naskar retained it in 2021 with 56.35% of the vote against BJP candidate Bidhan Parui's 36.75%.

This time, the BJP has fielded Debangshu Panda against CPI (M)'s Shambhu Kurmi and Congress leader Abdur Razzak