TMC MP Sougata Roy blamed the party's loss in the Falta Assembly repoll on their candidate, Jahangir Khan, who he said 'betrayed' them by withdrawing days before the campaign ended, leading to a massive victory for the BJP.
TMC Blames Candidate's 'Betrayal' for Loss
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy on Monday discussed the party's loss to the BJP in the Falta Assembly seat repolls, claiming that their candidate, Jahangir Khan, announced his withdrawal from the election just three days before the end of the campaign. As a result, the party did not have the opportunity to field an alternative candidate before the deadline, which led to BJP's win in the constituency.
"Our candidate (Jahangir Khan) betrayed us. He announced his withdrawal from the election just three days before the campaigning ended. We didn't have the chance to field another candidate until then, so this result came..." said Roy.
BJP's Panda Secures Massive Win
Roy's remarks came after the results for the Falta Assembly constituency repoll were announced, which recorded a victory for the BJP. The party's candidate, Debangshu Panda, secured a massive win with a margin of 1,09,021 votes against Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi.
'Democracy Has Won': PM Modi
Hailing the victory on X, PM Modi said, "Democracy has won, and intimidation has lost." PM Modi posted, "People of Falta have spoken! Democracy has won, and intimidation has lost. Congratulations to Shri Debangshu Panda Ji for winning in Falta by a record margin. It indicates the unwavering faith of the people of West Bengal towards the BJP. People are seeing the exceptional work of the West Bengal Government across sectors and thus have decided to further bless us."
"My compliments to all BJP Karyakartas across West Bengal for their outstanding work. We will keep working for West Bengal's progress in the times to come," he added.
Re-polling Details and Final Tally
The re-polling recorded an approximate voter turnout of 88.13 per cent, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Falta underwent re-polling on May 21, as irregularities were reported during the 2nd phase of polling in the assembly segment on April 29.
After the win in Falta today, the BJP now has 208 MLAs in the 294-seat state assembly.
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