Falta counting: BJP candidate ahead by 14,514 votes; Trinamool remains in 4th position

Kolkata: After the fifth round of counting for the repolling of Falta Assembly constituency on Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Debangshu Panda is comfortably ahead of his closest opponents by a margin of 14,514 votes As per figures available from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, after the fifth round of counting, the total number of votes polled by the BJP candidate was 30,562, followed by CPI(M)’s Sambhunath Kurmi at 16,048 and Congress candidate Abdur Razzak at 3,510 votes. Trinamool Congress candidate, Jahangir Khan, is placed in the fourth position, securing 1,685 votes at the end of the fifth round of counting Altogether, there will be 21 rounds of counting, and the result is expected to be clearer by 1 p.m. This is the first time since the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections that CPI(M) has surpassed Trinamool Congress in securing votes. In fact, political observers feel that while the victory of the BJP candidate in the Falta repoll was a foregone conclusion, the main curiosity was about who would be in second position. “While there was a possibility of the CPI(M) candidate getting more votes than the Trinamool Congress candidate, it was quite unexpected that even the Congress candidate would surpass the Trinamool Congress candidate in terms of the votes secured," they said. Now, with the victory of the BJP candidate almost certain after the fifth round of counting, the total tally of the ruling party in the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly will be 208, followed by Trinamool Congress at 80, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and Congress at two each; and CPI(M) and All India Secular Front at one each. The counting was being held amid tight security. As the BJP candidate's lead over other contestants was increasing, the party workers went into a celebratory mood. The Trinamool candidate, Jahangir Khan, and his party agents were absent from the counting centre. Khan had announced his withdrawal from the fray even though he was in the race till the repolling was announced.