‘Pushpa’ surrenders: TMC’s Falta 'strongman' Jahangir Khan withdraws candidature before repoll on May 21, details

Jahangir Khan says he is not in the race as CM Suvendu Adhikari has promised a “special package” for the constituency, party says decision his own.

NewsBharati    19-May-2026 18:19:10 PM
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“We will not bow before him. This is Bengal. If he is ‘Singham’, then I am ‘Pushpa’. No threat or intimidation by BJP-backed police officers from Uttar Pradesh will be tolerated in Falta,” Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Jahangir Khan had declared late last month, a day after Uttar Pradesh police officer Ajay Pal Sharma visited his residence in Falta, located in West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour region, in search of him.

Khan had earned notoriety for using strong-arm tactics to maintain his dominance in the Assembly segment that delivered a lead of over one lakh votes to TMC’s second-in-command, Abhishek Banerjee, during the Assembly elections. But barely a month later, with Falta heading for a repoll on May 21, ordered by the Election Commission after large-scale irregularities during polling on April 28, the political mood in the constituency appears to have shifted dramatically. Khan, too, seems to have changed his stance.
 
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On Tuesday, May 19, the TMC candidate from Falta announced that he was withdrawing from the contest, claiming that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had assured a “special package” for the constituency. Technically, however, he cannot withdraw his candidature since the deadline for withdrawal has already passed. Despite this, the TMC is unlikely to campaign aggressively, and locals now expect the main contest to be between BJP candidate Debangshu Panda and CPI(M) nominee Shambhu Kurmi.
 

In a statement, the TMC said Khan’s decision was his own and not that of the party. “Since the election results were declared on May 4, 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. 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 (anti-Bengal)’ BJP will continue, both in West Bengal and in Delhi.”
 
 

Meanwhile, Khan, while talking to the media, said, "I am the son of Falta, and I want Falta to be at peace and grow. Our CM Suvendu Adhikari is giving a special package for the development of Falta, which is why I am separating myself from the re-polling of the constituency."
 
 

Khan’s comments came around the time Adhikari was addressing a road show in Falta. Minutes before the road show, Adhikari targeted the TMC candidate, saying, “A dacoit resides here whose name is Jahangir Khan. I will take necessary action against him after this election.” The CM announced that his government would give jobs to the families of people killed in the 2021 post-poll violence.
 
Jahangir Khan, a TMC leader from West Bengal’s Falta constituency, is a controversial political strongman. He has faced allegations of intimidation, booth capturing, political violence, and coercion during elections. During recent polls, opposition parties also accused him and his supporters of threatening women voters, including allegations of rape threats, which sparked outrage and intensified demands for action against him.

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