Falta re-election: Voter turnout hits 86%; Jahangir Khan didn't vote, says poll officer - top development

NEW DELHI: Repolling in West Bengal’s Falta assembly constituency recorded a brisk 86.11 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm on Thursday, with election officials also stating that TMC candidate Jahangir Khan did not cast his vote. Polling remained largely peaceful through the day following heightened scrutiny after the Election Commission countermanded the earlier election over allegations of EVM tampering and manipulation of web camera footage.The repoll was ordered after the Election Commission countermanded the April 29 voting over allegations of large-scale EVM tampering and attempts to manipulate web camera footage at several polling booths. The commission described the earlier polling process as being affected by “severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process”. More than 2.36 lakh voters, including over 1.15 lakh women and nine third-gender electors, were eligible to vote across 285 polling stations in the South 24 Parganas constituency. Voting began at 7 am and was scheduled to continue till 6 pm.Security arrangements were significantly strengthened for the repoll, with 35 companies of Central Armed Police Forces deployed across the constituency. Officials said eight security personnel were stationed at each booth, double the deployment during the earlier polling. In addition, 30 Quick Response Teams were kept on standby to tackle any disturbance.Political tensions had remained high in Falta after complaints emerged that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs during the April 29 polling. Former Election Commission Special Observer Subrata Gupta reportedly found evidence of alleged tampering in at least 60 booths during a subsequent inspection.A voter speaking to ANI said the atmosphere felt markedly different from previous elections. “We were scared to cast our votes 15 years back, but not anymore,” the voter said, adding that people earlier feared being stopped by “goons” outside polling stations.The constituency, located in Diamond Harbour, has become a key political battleground between the BJP and the TMC. Although six candidates remain officially in the contest, TMC nominee Jahangir Khan recently announced he would not fight the election, calling it a personal decision.Falta has largely remained a TMC stronghold since 2001, except for a brief CPI(M) victory in 2006.