A bitter row has erupted between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janta Party after BJP's Debangshu Panda secured a landslide victory in West Bengal's Falta constituency, where re-polling was conducted on May 21.
Panda won with over 1 lakh votes, leaving CPI(M)'s Sambhu Nath Kurmi and Congress' Abdul Razzak Molla far behind with 40,645 and 10,084 votes respectively.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has sought an explanation from the Election Commission over the timing of vote counting in the Falta constituency, alleging glaring inconsistencies.
He claimed that all 21 rounds of counting were completed by 3:30 pm on Sunday, whereas only 2-4 rounds had taken place at the same time on May 4, when the West Bengal Assembly election results were declared.
Banerjee also accused the Election Commission of turning a blind eye to the situation in West Bengal, citing the forced displacement of over 1,000 workers from Falta and the vandalization of party offices in broad daylight.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has also weighed in on the controversy, accusing the TMC of throttling democracy and looting public funds.
The BJP's win takes their tally in the House to 208 seats, with the TMC facing a tough battle against NOTA in the coming elections.
