BJP candidate Dibangshu Panda scored a huge win in the Valta assembly re-poll on Sunday, defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.
Banda polled 1,49,666 votes, beating CPI(Maoist) candidate Sambo Nath Kurmi, who polled 40,645 votes, maintaining a margin of 1,09,021 votes.
Congress Party candidate Abdul Razzaq Molla came in third place with 10,084 votes, while TMC candidate Jehangir Khan got about 7,783 votes.
Jahangir Khan publicly announced his withdrawal from the electoral competition earlier this week.
With the BJP’s victory in Valtha, its tally in Bengal rose to 208 from 207, though the effective assembly strength will remain unchanged after Adhikari vacates Nandigram on retaining Bhabanipur.
Until a few weeks ago, the Trinamool Congress camp was describing Faltha as one of the key symbols of its organizational dominance in the Diamond Harbor belt.
The constituency has witnessed aggressive political mobilization and has become pivotal in the bitter standoff between the BJP and the TMC.
Valta became the center of controversy after the April 29 election, when complaints emerged about the alleged use of perfume-like substances, ink markers and adhesive tapes on electronic voting machines at multiple booths.
The poll body announced a re-poll for the seat after reports of widespread violence before the polls and on the day of voting, especially by BJP supporters.
Khan and IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, who has been appointed by the EC as Superintendent of Police, were also in a confrontation as voters alleged that TMC cadres were putting black tape on other names in the electronic voting machine.
