West Bengal: Why Falta residents want TMC leader Israfil Chowkidar arrested amid repoll uncertainty

The Falta region in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has become one of the key flashpoints in the elections, ahead of the May 4 vote counting date.

At the centre of mounting protests by locals on the streets are calls for the arrest of Israfil Chowkidar, who is reportedly a close associate of Jahangir Khan, the TMC's candidate for the Falta constituency.

Khan faces competition from the BJP's Debangshu Panda, Abdur Razzak Molla from the Congress, and Sambhu Nath Kurmi from CPI(M).

The locals alleged that TMC leaders led by Chowkidar had allegedly threatened to "burn (people's) houses" and cause bloodshed if their party did not return to power in the West Bengal elections.

"TMC's Israfil Chowkidar has threatened us that if these people (the BJP) win, they will burn our houses here and carry out bloodshed," a local woman told ANI.

Another woman alleged that she had been threatened by TMC workers despite voting for the Mamata Banerjee-led party itself.

"We had voted for TMC, yet they attacked us ... TMC's Israfil Chowkidar has threatened us. We want him to be arrested. We need safety for women," she said.

Demanding the arrests of Khan, Chowkidar, and the TMC workers involved in threatening the people of Falta, locals—joined by BJP workers—could be seen in full capacity on the streets, amid the presence of not just CAPF officers, but also CRPF and RAF personnel.

While the CAPF officers had already been deployed by the Election Commission (EC) to maintain order in the region ahead of the May 4 vote counting, those from the CRPF and the RAF were later deployed after tensions flared up in Falta, and after the TMC and the BJP traded allegations of tampering with ballot boxes.

An armoured vehicle has also been deployed in Falta as a precautionary measure.

The Falta region protests are also linked to demands for repolling in the Falta constituency, adjacent to the Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim constituencies, which saw repolling conducted at 15 voting centres.

As of 3 PM, repolling at the 11 polling booths in the Magrahat Paschim constituency saw a turnout of 72.5 per cent, while that at the four booths in the Diamond Harbour Assembly saw a 72.36 per cent turnout.

The repolling comes after a number of allegations arose of not only ballot box tampering, but also issues with the EVMs themselves.

The Election Commission (EC) has so far said that repolls for the Falta constituency were not yet approved, as it was waiting for the polling assessment from there.

"Repoll is only done based on the assessment of the poll which has taken place. Assessment was done by the State General Observer and the team there; they have sent a report. Let us see what the status is," pointed out West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal.

"The difference between other areas and Falta is—in Diamond Harbour, (discrepancies were) found only in four places. In Magrahat, it was found in 11 places. But here, a large number of booths are there. That is why, EC has to take a decision based on the totality of the situation," he added.