Jahangir Khan, the self-proclaimed “Pushpa” and Trinamool Congress nominee for the Falta Assembly seat, on Tuesday pulled out of the fray, attributing his decision to a "special package” that "our chief minister will give" for the constituency.

The repoll in Falta will be held on May 21. Since Khan has announced his withdrawal from the fray many days after the last date for the withdrawal of nominations, his name will remain on the EVMs.

The Election Commission has announced the repoll after it found malpractices in at least 60 polling booths, including the sticking of tapes on EVMs, during the second phase of the Bengal Assembly elections on April 29.

Khan, a close aide to Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, cited chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s announcement of a special package for Falta as the main reason behind his decision to pull out of the contest.

“I am a son of the soil of Falta. I always want peace and maximum possible development for Falta. My vision was to make ‘Sonar Falta’. Our chief minister will give a special package for Falta, and that is why I am pulling myself out of the repoll on May 21,” said Khan.

He announced his withdrawal on a day when Suvendu was in Falta to attend a road show in favour of BJP nominee Debangshu Panda. The result of the repoll will be announced on May 24.

“I am withdrawing from the contest in the interest of Falta’s development and peace,” Khan added, but declined to answer whether the decision was his own or the party’s.

Khan had claimed to be “Pushpa” after the BJP had portrayed IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma — an “encounter specialist” deployed by the EC in Diamond Harbour during the election — as “Singham”.

Pushpa is the main character in the 2021 Telugu blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise, featuring Allu Arjun as a labourer who rises to become a red sandalwood smuggler.

In the 2011 Hindi film Singham, Ajay Devgn played the role of an honest and valiant police officer, Bajirao Singham.

To counter the BJP’s “Singham” narrative, Khan claimed on April 28: “If he (Ajay Pal Sharma) is Singham, we are Pushpa. Jhukega nahi (I will not bow down).”

“Jhukega nahi” was a famous dialogue delivered by Allu Arjun in Pushpa: The Rise, which also had a second instalment released in 2024.

Soon after Khan exited the fray, Suvendu questioned his “Jhukega nahi” comment and mocked Abhishek.

“Where is the self-proclaimed Pushpa? Pushpa had said ‘Jhukega nahi’. Today, Pushpa is saying he is ‘pagarpar’ (stepping out of the boundary) and that he will not contest the election,” the chief minister said during his road show.

“You (Khan) did not get polling agents for May 21. Where is respected bhaipo (nephew), who took you up a tree? Bhaipo babu is nowhere,” he added, before asking people to go out and vote for the BJP nominee, claiming Khan’s announcement was a Trinamool strategy to deter people from voting.

Suvendu also assured that after the counting of votes on May 24, he would return
to ensure robust development in Falta.

Khan’s withdrawal has raised questions over Trinamool’s hegemony in Falta, where Abhishek had secured 89.09 per cent of the votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Falta is part of Abhishek’s Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency and, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he won by a margin of 7.10 lakh votes.

Sources said the BJP’s allegation of rigging in the elections as part of the so-called Diamond Harbour Model gained credence after Khan opted out of the contest, although Trinamool still has 80 MLAs.

After Khan’s withdrawal, Trinamool released a statement through its official social media handle. “The decision taken by Jahangir Khan to withdraw from the Falta re-poll is his personal decision and not that of the party,” read the statement.

Trinamool spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh has also expressed doubts over the Falta episode and left the matter to Abhishek for explanation.

“The question is whether there was an environment of fear in Falta. If there was an environment of fear, then why did Pushpa become afraid? However, it is part of the Diamond Harbour Model area. Abhishek Banerjee, the local MP who won by a huge margin, can explain this,” said Ghosh.

He did not make any comment when asked whether it was a failure of the “Diamond Harbour Model”.

Trinamool sources said that no senior leaders, including Abhishek, had visited Falta for the campaign after the repolling had been declared, which might have demoralised Khan.

Many recalled Abhishek’s social media post on May 2, where he challenged the Union government to come to Falta and dent his Diamond Harbour Model.

“Bring everything you have got. I challenge the entire Union of India — Come to Falta. Send your strongest, send one of the godfathers from Delhi. If you have got the nerve, contest in Falta,” Abhishek wrote on his X handle on May 2.