Kolkata, May 25 -- Even as the BJP stormed to a sweeping victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election and secured a dominant win in Falta, the Constituency's postal ballot figures have triggered intense political discussion.

While the Trinamool Congress (TMC) eventually slipped to the fourth position in Falta with only 7,783 total votes, the party secured a striking 1,526 postal ballots - far ahead of the BJP's 245 and CPI(M)'s 20 postal votes.

The Falta Constituency had gone to re-poll after allegations of disturbances and irregularities during the earlier phase of polling. BJP candidate Debangshu Panda eventually won the seat comfortably with nearly 71.2 per cent votes, while CPI(M) emerged second and Congress finished third.

The political backdrop became more dramatic after former TMC candidate Jahangir Khan announced his withdrawal from the contest just two days ahead of the re-poll. Despite the poor overall performance in Falta, the postal ballot count painted a sharply different picture for the party.

On Monday, the TMC also addressed the issue in a Press conference. Senior leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that the early ballot trends reflected support in favour of the TMC candidate, but later developments during polling and counting altered the outcome. He also questioned the neutrality of the electoral process and raised concerns over the role of institutions and central forces during the repoll.

According to the final Election Commission figures, BJP secured 1,49,666 votes in total, while CPI(M) received over 40,000 votes. Congress managed more than 10,000 votes, pushing the TMC to fourth place in the constituency.

However, the unusually high postal ballot support for the TMC compared to its final standing has now emerged as one of the key talking points after the Falta repoll. Political observers say the contrast between the postal ballot trend and the EVM-based final result is likely to fuel further debate over voting patterns and the larger political message emerging from the constituency.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.