New Delhi: Following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s win in the repolling for the Falta Assembly seat, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy has called the withdrawal of the party’s candidate ahead of the repolling a “betrayal”, alleging that pressure led to the move.

Speaking to ANI, Roy said the timing of the withdrawal meant the candidate’s name remained on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), as it came after the last date for withdrawal had passed.

“The result was bound to come because our TMC candidate, Jahangir Khan, had withdrawn from the election just a few days before the campaigning ended. His name remained on the EVM because the last date for withdrawal had already passed. This was a betrayal by Jahangir Khan. If he had withdrawn before the last date, TMC could have fielded a good candidate and there would have been a fair fight. Pressure was put on our candidate to withdraw; he couldn't withstand that pressure. I don't have much information about this. Abhishek Banerjee will be able to tell better about this because he is the MP of that area,” Roy told reporters.

He further said the development weakened the party’s prospects in the repoll.

Falta underwent re-polling on May 21 after irregularities were reported during the second phase of polling in the constituency on April 29. The Election Commission of India (ECI) recorded an approximate voter turnout of 88.13%.

The BJP registered a decisive win in the seat, with candidate Debangshu Panda defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) nominee Sambhu Nath Kurmi by a margin of 1,09,021 votes.

Following the result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated BJP’s Debangshu Panda, describing the outcome as a victory for democracy.

“Democracy has won, and intimidation has lost.”

PM Modi further posted on X, “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.”

He added, “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.”