Falta Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan has withdrawn his candidature ahead of the repoll scheduled on May 21.
TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said the party has received information about Khan's decision, but is yet to get clarity on what prompted it.
"We have heard that Jahangir Khan has decided not to contest or participate in the Falta repoll," he told reporters.
"We are still not aware of the reason behind his withdrawal," he added.
Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday held a road show in Falta assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas on the final day of campaigning for the repoll.
Adhikari claimed that Khan had no option but to withdraw from the contest.
"He had no other way, as he won't get a polling agent, so he decided to run away," the CM told reporters.
He began the road show after offering 'puja' and performing 'arati' at a temple, with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' filling the air as BJP supporters gathered in large numbers.
Adhikari then boarded an open-hood vehicle for the road show in support of BJP candidate Debanshu Panda.
Locals participating in the rally alleged that several people had been unable to exercise their franchise freely over the last 10 years due to intimidation by "TMC-backed goons".
The procession passed through several parts of the constituency, with BJP workers projecting it as a show of strength ahead of the repoll.
No rally or public meeting has been conducted in the constituency by Khan or senior party leaders, including former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, during the campaign period since May 4.
On May 18, the Calcutta High Court permitted TMC leader Khan to contest the re-poll in Bengal’s Falta assembly seat. The court ordered no coercive action against Khan until May 24. The TMC leader has multiple FIRs registered against him.
Notably, a re-election is scheduled in the Falta constituency on May 21 after allegations of widespread malpractices led to the cancellation of the election earlier.
Khan had approached the court to seek disclosure of all FIRs against him and secure protection from coercive action ahead of voting in Falta. Khan alleged that he was being targeted with multiple FIRs during the election time.
As reported earlier, tensions erupted in Falta in the South 24 Parganas district of Bengal on Saturday (May 2) after locals staged protests alleging threats and intimidation by Trinamool Congress cadres ahead of the counting of votes on May 4.
A similar situation emerged in the Hasimnagar area under the Falta community development block, where locals narrated harassment by TMC workers. Locals said that the head of their gram panchayat is not elected but chosen by the TMC. They revealed that the TMC candidate from Falta, Jahangir Khan, came and threatened them, saying that after the TMC comes to power, they will be killed and their women will be raped.
“This has been happening since yesterday. TMC goons entered our village, harassed women and beat up people. The head of our gram panchayat is from TMC, and he was not voted to power; he was chosen by the party. Jahangir Khan came here and threatened us that if they come to power, they will rape our women and kill us. This is why people have been alert since yesterday. We organised a strike on Dum Dum Road, and it went on till last night. We were given time till 10 AM today. When no action was taken, we again came out to ask why that person had not been arrested till now. The police came and did a lathi charge, even on girls. People had to be hospitalised,” said a local woman.
On May 16, the Falta Police arrested TMC leader Saidul Khan, vice-president of the Falta Panchayat Samiti and a close aide of TMC candidate Jahangir Khan. He faces allegations of threatening BJP leaders and activists.