The vote recount for the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal shows a decisive lead for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Debangshu Panda, whose margin has surged to 38,940 votes after 10 rounds of counting. With 21 rounds scheduled in total, Panda has already amassed 64,238 votes, positioning him firmly ahead in the race.
Trailing in second place, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate, Sambhunath Kurmi, has consolidated his position by securing 25,298 votes. The Congress candidate, Abdur Razzak, lags considerably with 6,429 votes, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) contender Jahangir Khan occupies the fourth spot with just 3,304 votes as per the latest figures.
This voting pattern sharply contrasts with previous election outcomes in Falta. In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, the TMC candidate Shankar Kumar Nashkar won the seat by over 41,000 votes. Similarly, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, who represents the broader Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat that includes Falta, secured a commanding lead margin of approximately 120,000 votes just from this constituency alone.
Abhishek Banerjee’s tenure as Diamond Harbour MP, now extending over three terms, and his party’s stronghold in the region have been well noted. However, the present trends from the repolling challenge that dominance and reveal a significant swing toward the BJP. According to BJP sources, the current vote count reflects a deeper shift in voter preference, indicating that previous large margins in favor of TMC may not hold in this repolling.
No official response has yet come from the TMC, CPI(M), or Congress regarding these developments. The remaining rounds of counting will continue to clarify the final outcome in this key constituency of West Bengal.