Two days before the Assembly bypoll in Falta, a politically significant segment due to its location, TMC candidate Jahangir Khan exited the electoral race, leaving the Mamata Banerjee-led party in a difficult position.Falta became a major talking point in the West Bengal election after the Election Commission (EC) ordered a repoll there. The decision followed evidence that voters had been prevented from voting for BJP, and that BJP symbols on EVMs were covered with white tape.Falta is located in Diamond Harbour, the parliamentary constituency of TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.Interestingly, the then special poll observer for the EC, Subrata Gupta, who is now an adviser to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, had conducted the inquiry into electoral malpractices in Falta. The repoll was ordered based on his report.Meanwhile, Jahangir Khan, who often described himself as “Pushpa” after the famed character from the hit Telugu film, withdrew from the Falta race today.“My objective is to ensure peace and security in Falta and foster its best possible development. My vision was ‘Sonar Falta’. Our Chief Minister is providing a special package for the people of Falta. It is for this reason that I am withdrawing my nomination in the interest of development and peace in the segment,” Khan said, prompting BJP to ask, “What happened to Pushpa?”TMC later said in a statement that Khan’s decision was a personal call and not a party decision.“Since May 4, when the results were declared, over 100 TMC workers have been arrested in Falta alone. Many TMC offices were vandalised,” the TMC said, adding that it will continue to resist the BJP’s threats.The TMC condemned Khan’s move to pull out of the race, pledging to continue working against the “Bangla Birodhi” BJP.BJP, for its part, said Khan exited the race because he would not have found any polling agents in the area.“Many people tried to be Pushpa, but ended up being ‘Phuss’,” Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said.