'The Truth Cannot Be Suppressed Forever': Abhishek Banerjee Questions Falta Repoll Counting

Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP, on Sunday raised serious questions over the counting process in the Falta Assembly repoll, alleging irregularities and accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of failing to ensure free and fair elections.

In a strongly worded social media post, Banerjee claimed that the repoll counting process on Sunday showed “glaring inconsistencies.” He pointed out that all 21 counting rounds were completed by 3:30 pm, whereas during the earlier counting on May 4, only two to four rounds had been completed by the same time.

“The country deserves an explanation from the ECI,” Banerjee said, while also alleging that over 1,000 TMC workers from Falta had been forced to flee their homes over the past 10 days amid political violence. He further claimed that party offices were vandalised in broad daylight despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force.

The TMC leader also accused the Election Commission of taking no action against alleged irregularities. He alleged that the Chief Electoral Officer, who was purportedly involved in deleting voter names under the guise of electoral revision, was later appointed Chief Secretary of the new West Bengal government even before the Falta polling process had concluded.

Banerjee further alleged that counting agents from the TMC and other opposition parties, except the BJP, were removed from the counting venue on May 4 by officials and central forces deployed under the ECI. He described the situation as “deeply alarming” and said it “strikes at the heart of free and fair elections.”

Demanding accountability, Banerjee called for an independent CCTV audit of the counting process and action against “compromised officials.” He warned that questions regarding the credibility of the electoral mandate would continue to grow unless a transparent probe was conducted.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate Debangshu Panda won the Falta Assembly election by a margin of 1,09,021 votes. TMC candidate Jahangir Khan, who had announced his withdrawal from the contest ahead of the May 21 repoll, finished fourth with 7,783 votes.