The election result has triggered an internal existential crisis for the TMC. The party's candidate, Jahangir Khan—who previously styled himself after the movie character ‘Pushpa’ and vowed not to bow down—dramatically announced his withdrawal from the contest just two days before the polls, citing a development package by the BJP government. Though the TMC distanced itself by calling it a personal decision, Khan finished a distant fourth.
The outcome is being viewed as a direct rejection of Abhishek Banerjee’s high-profile “Diamond Harbour Model” in South 24 Parganas. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] candidate, Sambhu Nath Kurmi, finished second, while the Congress secured the third spot.
The Election Commission had ordered the May 21 repoll across all 285 booths after cancelling the initial April 29 vote over serious allegations of electoral malpractice and violence linked to Khan.
Following the victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Panda and lauded the voters saying, "The people of Falta have expressed their opinion! "The people of West Bengal have shown their unwavering faith in the BJP, defeating intimidation and winning democracy."
Political analysts note that the defeat exposes the hollow state of the TMC's organisation without administrative and police backing. Grassroots TMC workers have alleged that the leadership abandoned them amid post-poll turbulence, prompting internal factions to openly question Abhishek Banerjee’s capability as Mamata Banerjee’s successor.
Meanwhile, the opposition has declared the end of TMC's era of corruption and oppression. Emerging in second place, the CPI(M) claimed that only the Left is capable of resisting the BJP on the streets, while former Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury similarly raised serious questions regarding the TMC's political future.
