15 Days After Suvendu Adhikari's Oath, Why Falta Is Yet To Get MLA

The BJP has secured a significant lead in the initial rounds of counting in West Bengal's Falta Assembly constituency, where repolling was held on Thursday. The counting began at 8 am and will continue through 21 rounds, for an election in which the Trinamool candidate opted out of the race after the BJP swept 207 of the state's 294 seats.

Repolling was ordered in all 285 booths in the constituency after allegations of tampering with the voting machines and electoral irregularities during the Phase 2 voting on April 29.

A turnout of over 87 per cent (of the total 2.36 lakh voters) was recorded during the repolling on Thursday.

Read: EVMs Taped To Block Votes, Scent Smeared To Find Voters: Bengal Repoll Report

Security was doubled in the constituency in the South 24 Paraganas district for the repoll, with around 25 companies of central forces being deployed here to ensure a free and fair election.

Falta had been a Trinamool fortress, located in Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee's Diamond Harbour stronghold. The seat had been with the Trinamool since 2011.  

No Trinamool In Contest

Six candidates are in the race in this seat, though the Trinamool's Jahangir Khan had pulled out of the contest days earlier. The other candidates are Debangshu Panda (BJP), Abdur Razzak Molla (Congress), Sambhu Nath Kurmi (CPM), and two Independents.

Just two days before repolling, Jahangir Khan had announced that he had backed out of the contest since Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had promised a special package for the people of Falta.

Read: 'Pushpa Has Fled': Jahangir Khan Skips Voting In Falta, Locks Office

"It is for this reason that I am withdrawing my nomination. I have withdrawn my candidature in the interest of Falta's development and peace," he stressed.

The Trinamool Congress had distanced itself from Khan's decision and said that it will continue to "resist the BJP's intimidation."

Why Falta Went For Repoll

Repolling was ordered in Falta after complaints emerged from several booths on April 29 that adhesive tapes and perfume-like substances were being applied to the voting machines.

A review of the complaints also found alleged attempts to tamper with the footage captured by web cameras, raising questions over the role of polling officers.

The Election Commission's report said there were allegations of widespread booth-capturing and forceful takeover of the polling stations where genuine voters were stopped from voting or faced threats or intimidation.

Not only were tapes used on buttons of balloting units to block votes for a certain party, but the report also pointed to suspects applying perfume and ink on the buttons to identify people who voted for a particular candidate.

Based on their findings, repolling was ordered in all booths.