Trinamool Congress candidate from the Falta Assembly seat, Jahangir Khan, announced on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that he was withdrawing from the electoral contest.

He stated that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s promise of a special package for the area’s development prompted him to take the decision.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Khan said he took the decision keeping Falta’s interests in mind.

“I am the son of Falta, and I want the area to be at peace and grow,” he said.

“The CM has announced a special package for the development of Falta, which is why I have decided to move away from the repolling process in the constituency,” he added.

Repolling on the Falta seat in South 24 Parganas is scheduled for May 21. The Trinamool Congress candidate’s announcement of withdrawal came on the last day of the campaign when West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was holding a roadshow in the area in support of BJP candidate Debangshu Panda.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) said TMC’s Falta candidate Jahangir Khan “ran away” from the May 21 repolling as he would not get any polling agents.

Campaigning in Falta in South 24 Parganas district ahead of the May 21 repolling, Mr. Adhikari claimed that Mr. Khan had no option but to withdraw from the contest.

“He had no other way, as he won’t get a polling agent, so he decided to run away,” the CM told reporters.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday (May 18, 2026) granted protection to TMC’s Falta Assembly repoll candidate Jahangir Khan from any coercive action by the police until May 26 in connection with criminal cases filed against him.

TMC on Jahangir Khan

The opposition TMC in West Bengal on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) said it was Jahangir Khan’s “personal decision” to withdraw from the Falta repolling and not that of the party.

In a statement, TMC alleged that a climate of intimidation had been created in the constituency following the declaration of the Assembly election results on May 4.

Over 100 TMC workers have been arrested in the Falta and several party offices vandalised, shut down or forcibly captured “in broad daylight”, it alleged.

“Even in the face of such pressure, our workers remain rock-solid and continue to resist the BJP’s intimidation unleashed through agencies and the administration. However, some eventually succumbed to the pressure and chose to step away from the field,” the statement said.

The TMC claimed that its fight against the “anti-Bengal BJP” would continue both in the State and in national capital Delhi.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on May 2, 2026, that repolling for the Falta Assembly seat in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal will take place on May 21. The polling will be held at all 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency, and the votes will be counted on May 24.

“There were allegations of electoral malpractices in Falta. The ECI’s notification announcing the repolling stated that during the polling on April 29, several complaints had been received from political parties, candidates, and media reports “alleging the application of black adhesive tape or perfume on the ballot unit buttons of EVMs in favor of or against particular political parties, intimidation and obstruction of voters, and the physical, unauthorised, and illegal presence of political party cadres inside polling stations”.

(With inputs from PTI)