Falta TMC Candidate: I'm Out of Polls; Party Stumped, Calls It a 'Personal Decision', Blames BJP
Several party offices have been vandalised, shut down and forcibly captured in broad daylight through intimidation, while the EC continues to turn a blind eye despite repeated complaints.”
Kolkata:Springing a surprise two days before the Assembly election at Falta in West Bengal, controversial Trinamul Congress candidate Jahangir Khan announced his withdrawal from the fray and gave a walkover to the BJP. Khan had hit the headlines when he had declared himself ‘Puspha’, after the lead character in the eponymous hit film, vowing not to bow to ‘Singham’ — the title given to central police observer Ajaypal Sharma, an ‘encounter specialist’ from Uttar Pradesh.
Announcing the decision to the media, Khan on the last day of the campaign, he did not reveal why he withdrew at the eleventh hour. “I'm a son of the soil of Falta. I want peace and more development to prevail here. My dream is ‘sonar’ (golden) Falta,” the TMC candidate said on Tuesday.
Referring to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Khan added, “He is giving a special package for development of Falta. So I am taking myself off the poll on May 21.” Stumped by the development, the TMC called its candidate's move a "personal decision". Significantly, the segment is located in Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency where Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee is the MP.
TMC stated, “Since the election results were declared on 4th May, more than 100 of our party workers have been arrested in Falta AC alone. Several party offices have been vandalised, shut down and forcibly captured in broad daylight through intimidation, while the EC continues to turn a blind eye despite repeated complaints.”
It added, “Even in the face of such pressure, our workers remain rock-solid and continue to resist the BJP’s intimidation unleashed through agencies and the administration. However, some eventually succumbed to the pressure and chose to step away from the field. We strongly condemn this. Our fight against the Bangla Birodhi BJP will continue- both in West Bengal and in Delhi.”
Adhikari, who campaigned at the constituency during the day, targeted Abhishek Banerjee and wondered, “Why didn't he campaign here? The reason is TMC has no agents to be fielded at the poll. So he (Jahangir) had no choice except escape.” Khan's wish cannot change his candidature status as the last date for the withdrawal of nomination is over.
According to an Election Commission official, EVMs will show his name among the candidates on May 21. Falta was the only seat among the 294 where polling was countermanded by the EC due to severe malpractices during voting in the second and final phase of the polls on April 29.
