Opinion | When Fear Lost Its Deposit At Falta

The destruction of the Diamond Harbour model has been the single biggest step for the restoration of fear-free elections in Bengal

For many living outside Bengal, the Diamond Harbour model, touted by its sitting MP and former First Nephew of the state, Abhishek Banerjee, was a welcome bulwark against the onward march of the saffron horde. Such was the relief in external circles about this fortress that no one looked askance at Banerjee’s ever-increasing victory margin there, peaking at 7,10,930 in the 2024 general elections. So, the 2026 assembly poll results and the Falta by-election were shattering.

Not many know that Falta, now famous for being the stomping ground of the deceptively sweet-faced Trinamool Congress muscleman and Banerjee lieutenant Jahangir Khan, began as a Dutch fortress called Voltha. It was a key riverside outpost for trade conducted by the Dutch and Portuguese and later the French and English. But not since the British “factors" and their families, fleeing Siraj-ud-Daulah in 1756, took refuge in the fort has Falta garnered so much attention.

Opinion | Falta Rout Completes The Slaying Of TMC’s Brutal Diamond Harbour Model

BJP's Debangshu Panda Wins Big In Falta Repoll; TMC Alleges 'Glaring Inconsistencies'

Falta Rout Completes The Slaying Of TMC’s Brutal Diamond Harbour Model | The Right Stand | News18

Falta Rout Completes The Slaying Of TMC’s Brutal Diamond Harbour Model | The Right Stand | News18

For all that the Diamond Harbour model—with Falta as its cornerstone—enthused the probashi (non-resident) secular and “Bengal is Different" brigades, no one really cared to examine it closely. Which is why the model’s spectacular decimation in the 2026 assembly polls surprised the secular expatriate Bengalis but not those who........

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