The BJP has delivered a major political blow to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal by winning the Falta Assembly seat with a huge margin, marking a symbolic collapse of Abhishek Banerjee’s long-dominant “Diamond Harbour Model”.
BJP candidate Debangshu Panda secured a landslide victory with 1,49,421 votes after all 22 rounds of counting were completed on Sunday. CPI(M) candidate Shambu Nath Karmi finished second, while TMC heavyweight Jahangir Khan — once considered the party’s most powerful local face in the region — slipped to fourth place with just 6,257 votes.
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The result is being seen as a dramatic reversal for the TMC, which had controlled the Diamond Harbour region for over a decade under Banerjee’s leadership. Falta falls within the Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency, considered one of the TMC’s safest strongholds since 2009.
The election battle in Falta intensified after allegations of voter intimidation, booth capturing and EVM tampering surfaced during the initial phase of polling on April 29. Following complaints from opposition parties, the Election Commission ordered a complete repoll across all 285 booths in the constituency.
The political atmosphere shifted sharply after the BJP’s sweeping victory in the Bengal Assembly elections on May 4. During the repoll, heavy deployment of central forces reportedly weakened the TMC’s local influence and gave voters greater confidence to cast ballots freely.
Adding to the TMC’s troubles, Jahangir Khan announced his withdrawal from active campaigning just days before the repoll, citing pressure and promising support for development under the new BJP government led by Suvendu Adhikari.
Political observers say the Falta verdict reflects the larger anti-incumbency wave across Bengal and signals a major setback for Abhishek Banerjee’s political influence in Diamond Harbour.
