Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, May 21: Repolling in the Falta Assembly constituency of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district witnessed a strong voter turnout on Thursday, with 60.43 per cent polling recorded till 1 p.m., officials said.

Despite intense summer heat, voters turned up in large numbers, forming long queues outside all 285 polling booths across the constituency. Polling began at 7 a.m. amid tight security arrangements and continued peacefully throughout the day.

Officials from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said the voting trend resembled the high participation seen during the recently concluded two-phase Assembly elections held on April 23 and April 29.

“With more than 60 per cent voting recorded by 1 p.m. and several hours of polling still remaining, there is a strong possibility that the final turnout may cross 90 per cent, similar to the turnout witnessed during the Assembly polls last month,” a source in the CEO’s office stated.

Interestingly, leaders and workers of the Trinamool Congress, including party candidate Jahangir Khan, were largely absent from polling stations during the repoll. Although Khan had earlier announced his withdrawal from the contest, his name continued to remain on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), as the withdrawal came after the official deadline.

Meanwhile, polling agents representing major political parties such as the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress were present across booths to monitor the voting process.

The Election Commission ensured extensive security deployment for the repoll, with 35 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) stationed throughout the constituency — an unusually high deployment for a single Assembly seat.

The repoll was ordered by the Election Commission of India after widespread allegations of electoral irregularities and malpractice during the original polling conducted on April 29. Authorities have scheduled the counting of votes and declaration of results for May 24.