His decision, not that of party: TMC on Jahangir Khan withdrawing from Falta repoll

The TMC in West Bengal has denied responsibility for its candidate Jahangir Khan's withdrawal from the Falta re-election, blaming a climate of intimidation created by the BJP.

The opposition TMC in West Bengal on Tuesday said it was Jahangir Khan's ''personal decision'' to withdraw from the Falta re-election and not that of the party.

Khan, the TMC candidate of Falta in South 24 Parganas district, withdrew from the race hours before campaigning was scheduled to close for the re-election.

In a statement, TMC alleged that a climate of intimidation had been created in the constituency following the declaration of the assembly election results on May 4.

Over 100 TMC workers have been arrested in the Falta and several party offices vandalised, shut down or forcibly captured ''in broad daylight'', it alleged.

''Even in the face of such pressure, our workers remain rock-solid and continue to resist the BJP's intimidation unleashed through agencies and the administration. However, some eventually succumbed to the pressure and chose to step away from the field,'' the statement said.

The TMC claimed that its fight against the ''anti-Bengal BJP'' would continue both in the state and in national capital Delhi.

Re-election was ordered in the Falta assembly segment, where polling was held in the second phase of the West Bengal elections on April 29, following allegations of large-scale electoral malpractices.