‘Severe electoral offences’: EC orders repoll in Falta on May 21 after revote in Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim

The votes of Falta repoll will be counted on May 24, while the vote count for the rest of the constituencies is scheduled for May 4.

Updated on: May 3, 2026, 08:50:21 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Election Commission of India on Saturday ordered repolling across all 285 polling stations in Falta Assembly Constituency in West Bengal, citing severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process during the polling that was held in the second and final phase on April 29.

Repoll in Bengal's Falta (ANI Video Grab)

The poll panel said repoll across all the booths, including auxiliary polling stations, will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on May 21.

The votes of Falta repoll will be counted on May 24, while the vote count for the rest of the constituencies is scheduled for May 4, Monday. The two-phase assembly polls were held on April 23 and April 29.

Repolling was also held across 15 polling booths in Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim as the EC declared polls at the affected booths as void based on reports from Returning Officers (ROs) and Observers.

During the day, massive protests were reported from Falta as locals alleged that they were receiving threats from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadre. Videos shared by news agency ANI showed locals getting into heated arguments with the security personnel.

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Protesters included several women as well as they raised concerns about their safety and demanded action against those allegedly responsible.

"TMC's Israfil Chowkidar has threatened us that if these people win, they will burn our houses and carry out bloodshed." Another woman alleged that despite voting for the ruling party, they were targeted. "We had voted for TMC, yet they attacked us... We want him to be arrested. We need safety for women," a local woman was quoted as saying by ANI.

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The ECI had received at least 77 complaints linked to EVM tampering during the second phase of the West Bengal elections.

Officials said that in some cases, the buttons of a political party on EVMs were covered with adhesive tape or darkened with ink, stopping voters from casting their votes. In some cases, attar was applied to the buttons so that anyone pressing them could be identified by rival parties.

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