Why TMC’s ‘Pushpa’ Jahangir Khan withdrew from Falta re-election race; how Suvendu Adhikari reacted

Trinamool Congress leader Jahangir Khan, popularly dubbed ‘Pushpa,’ withdrew from the Falta re-election race two days before polling, triggering intense political speculation in West Bengal. The repoll is on 21 May.

While the TMC quickly distanced itself from Khan's decision, calling it his ‘personal choice’ and alleging a post-poll atmosphere of intimidation in Falta, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari mocked the candidate for ‘running away’, claiming he quit after realising he would not even find polling agents on the ground.

Khan, who had become one of the most talked-about faces of the Falta campaign and cultivated a larger-than-life image around his self-styled 'Pushpa' persona of defiance, had repeatedly projected himself as someone who would not bend under pressure.

Dramatic turn in Falta

But sudden withdrawal, barely two days before polling, added another dramatic turn to a constituency already mired in allegations of electoral malpractice and political acrimony.

Khan said he made the decision keeping Falta's interests in mind and claimed that the CM's promise of a special development package for the constituency influenced his thinking.

"I am the son of Falta, and I want the area to be at peace and grow," Khan told a press conference on 19 May. "The CM has announced a special package for the development of Falta, which is why I have decided to move away from the re-polling process in the constituency," he said.

What did the TMC say?

While Khan cited development, his party swiftly distanced itself from his move. The Mamata Banerjee-led opposition party said the withdrawal was entirely Khan's ‘personal decision’ and not that of the party. The TMC also alleged that a climate of intimidation had been created in Falta after the declaration of results on 4 May.

"Since the election results were declared, more than 100 of our party workers have been arrested in Falta alone. Several party offices have been vandalised, shut down and forcibly captured in broad daylight," the party alleged in a statement.

"Even in the face of such pressure, our workers remain rock-solid and continue to resist BJP intimidation. However, some eventually succumbed to pressure and chose to step away from the field," it added in an apparent reference to Khan.

Earlier, TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty had maintained that the party itself was caught off guard.

"We have heard that Jahangir Khan has decided not to contest or participate in the Falta repoll. We are still not aware of the reason behind his withdrawal," he said.

‘Where is self-styled Pushpa?’ asks CM Suvendu

Chief Minister Adhikari launched a direct attack and sought to puncture Khan's carefully cultivated image. "Where is self-styled Pushpa? He had no other way, as he won't get a polling agent, so he decided to run away," Adhikari said while campaigning in Falta.

The remark was loaded with political subtext. Throughout the campaign, Khan had consciously borrowed from the swagger of the blockbuster film character Pushpa and built a combative political persona around the iconic line: "Pushpa jhukega nahi" (Pushpa never bends).

Khan had repeatedly projected himself as an unbending local strongman ready to take on the establishment. Ahead of polling, he had even publicly challenged police observer Ajaypal Sharma and suggested that, like Pushpa, he too would never bow before pressure.

While senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee had campaigned aggressively for Khan before the April 29 polling, the run-up to the repoll witnessed a conspicuous absence of top party leaders in Falta.

That vacuum fuelled speculation over whether Khan had increasingly found himself politically isolated as the constituency turned into a prestige contest.

Why re-polling in Falta?

Falta had already emerged as one of the election's most contentious seats after allegations surfaced that perfume, ink and adhesive tape had been used on EVMs in some booths during the April 29 polling. The BJP had cried foul and publicly demanded fresh elections, arguing that developments in the constituency warranted intervention.

The Election Commission subsequently ordered a repoll in Falta even as results for the remaining 293 assembly constituencies had already been declared on 4 May, with the BJP scripting a historic victory and coming to power in West Bengal for the first time.

The latest development has only deepened that sense of political drama.

Technically, Khan's withdrawal may make little difference because the deadline for withdrawing nominations has already passed, and his name will remain on the EVM.

Politically, however, the impact could be far greater.

(With PTI inputs)