Bengal's Falta votes under tight security, but where is TMC's 'Pushpa' Jahangir?

It’s 8 AM on Thursday in Falta. This is the only constituency in Diamond Harbour going to the polls today. I’m stationed here to cover one of the most crucial seats among West Bengal’s 294 assembly segments, Falta, which is holding a repoll after disruptions.

Right now, I’m standing outside the house of the man who styled himself “Pushpa”: TMC candidate Jahangir Khan. Khan withdrew from the contest, and he is nowhere to be found. After May 4th. The BJP came to power in Bengal. I watched Jahangir Khan’s posture change almost overnight. The defiance was gone. Three days ago, he withdrew from the contest.

My cameraperson, Suvojit Gain, and I have been here since dawn. It’s a three-storey building with its front iron gate locked. We knocked at his residence. There was pin-drop silence. The house is just beside a small lane and a pond. We tried knocking him and asking for him, but no response.

We checked every lane. But what we have developed is no sign of “Pushpa.” Thought came to my mind that whether it's a advantage to the BJP after their Bengal win, will it be a clean sweep in Falta as well?

This seat matters. Falta falls under Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha, where TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee won by a margin of 7.5 lakh votes. In the assembly segment, Falta had earlier given TMC a lead of around 1.6 lakh votes.

Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, the BJP won 207 and the Trinamool Congress won 80. But Falta stayed undecided. The “X-factor” here was Trinamool’s Jahangir Khan. He called himself “Pushpa” and told the crowds, “I am Pushpa; I will not bow down!”

After leaving his house, I visited several booths to gauge the mood. The man, who called himself “Pushpa” was still nowhere to be found. In 90% of the booths I visited, Trinamool Congress polling agents were missing too, though their names were on the EVMs.

In between, I have been to many booths under the Constituency. What I found is the voters are talking. After casting their ballots, many told me, “We are able to vote after 10 or 12 years. For nearly a decade, our voting rights had been snatched away. The terror personified by Jahangir has finally been dispelled.”

A 70-year-old man told me on camera, “In my 70 years of life, I have witnessed the finest voting process today; this was something that was desperately needed. I have voted during the eras of the Left Front, the Congress, and the Trinamool, and while voting was generally decent, today's process has been the absolute best. We are able to cast our votes without any fear.”

Another voter put it bluntly, referencing Jahangir’s own slogan: “Now, Pushpa has bowed down, Pushpa has fled.”

Across Falta, I’m seeing joy. People queued up before sunrise. They’re voting, criticising, appreciating, all openly. I have not witnessed a single act of violence so far.

The allegations after the April 29 poll were serious. I spoke to locals then who described a climate of terror, vote theft, booth capturing, rigging, and even physical tampering of EVMs. The Election Commission scrapped the voting for the entire Falta constituency. Results for 293 of the 294 seats were declared. Falta’s verdict was deferred to today, May 21.

The Commission had prior intelligence inputs warning of trouble in Falta. They put IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma in charge — an officer known for his “Singham-style” policing. But even with that deployment, Jahangir didn’t back down during the second phase of the Bengal polls on April 29, when Falta voted.

The Election Commission’s grip is tight. Every booth has 10 to 12 Central Force personnel. Special forces and special officers are on the ground.

Turnout is strong. By 5:00 pm, over 86% voting had already been recorded.

- Ends