Counting of votes in Bengal’s Falta Assembly repoll begins

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Debangshu Panda was headed for a decisive victory in West Bengal’s Falta Assembly repoll on Saturday, according to data from the Election Commission.

After 20 out of 21 rounds of counting, Panda maintained a lead of 1,04,487 votes over his Communist Party of India (Marxist) rival after the Trinamool Congress candidate withdrew from the contest days before polling.

According to the Election Commission, Panda had secured 1.37 lakh votes, while CPI(M) candidate Sambhu Nath Kurmi had polled 38,265 votes.