The Trinamool Congress’ Falta candidate Jahangir Khan on Tuesday announced that he has withdrawn from the repolling in the Assembly constituency, two days ahead of voting.

“This decision is for Falta’s development and the public good, following the chief minister’s special package,” he said on social media. “I remain committed to Falta’s progress.”

While voting in Falta was held on April 29, the Election Commission on May 2 ordered repolling in the constituency citing “severe electoral offences” and alleged “subversion of the democratic process”. There had been allegations of electoral malpractices in the seat.

The repolling will be held on May 21 and the votes will be counted on May 24. Khan’s withdrawal came just as the 48-hour silence period came into effect in the constituency.

The poll panel said that it had received complaints from political parties and candidates, and there were reports “alleging application of black adhesive tape/perfume on ballot unit buttons of EVMs [Electronic Voting Machines] in favour of or against particular political parties”.

A probe report by the poll panel found that voting machines in at least 60 of the 285 polling stations in the constituency had been tampered with.

On May 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated the TMC in the state polls, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

On Tuesday, Trinamool Congress said that the withdrawal of the candidature was Khan’s “personal decision and not that of the party”.

The TMC alleged that since the election result, more than 100 of its workers had been arrested in Falta. “Several party offices have been vandalised, shut down and forcibly captured in broad daylight through intimidation, while the EC continues to turn a blind eye despite repeated complaints,” the Banerjee-led party 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,” it added. “However, some eventually succumbed to the pressure and chose to step away from the field.”

Khan’s announcement came a day after the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Police not to take coercive action against him until the repoll process concluded, provided he cooperated with the investigation into criminal cases filed against him.

Khan had approached the court alleging that multiple criminal cases had been registered against him during the election period and sought protection from coercive action.

The High Court said that Khan should be allowed to contest the repoll “to keep the spirit of democracy alive”, while making clear that investigations against him would continue.

The court also directed the authorities to provide him with copies of pending first information reports within seven days and listed the matter for further hearing on May 26.

The judge verbally said that the change in government had meant a change in political scenario that had led to several cases being registered between May 4 and May 10.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.