In a remarkable turn of events in West Bengal's Farakka constituency, Congress candidate Motab Shaikh secured a decisive victory in the assembly elections after successfully restoring his voting rights through a Supreme Court-mandated tribunal process. Shaikh's name had been struck off the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, but he challenged the deletion before an appellate tribunal, one of 19 bodies constituted on the Supreme Court's directions to examine such cases. The tribunal restored his voting rights shortly before the nomination deadline, allowing him to contest the election.
Election Results and Victory Margin
Shaikh defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Sunil Chowdhuri by a margin of 8,193 votes, securing 63,050 votes against Chowdhuri's 54,857. Trinamool Congress candidate Amirul Islam finished third with 47,256 votes. This victory marks a significant turnaround for the Congress party, which also won the Raninagar seat, overcoming the setback of failing to secure a single seat in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Legal Battle and Restoration of Voting Rights
Shaikh's win is particularly notable given that his name was initially missing from the electoral rolls following the SIR exercise. He challenged the deletion before an appellate tribunal, where Calcutta High Court advocate Firdous Samim appeared in person at Bichar Bhawan and submitted the necessary documents, leading to the restoration of his name in the rolls. Referring to the Supreme Court's order dated September 8, 2025, former Justice TS Sivagnanam observed that an Aadhar card can be accepted as a supporting document. Though it is not a proof of citizenship, it is one of the documents enumerated for the purpose of establishing the identity of a person.
Congress Revival in West Bengal
The Congress party also registered a win in the neighbouring Raninagar constituency, where its candidate Julfikar Ali defeated Trinamool's Soumik Hossain by 2,701 votes. This signals a modest but symbolically important revival for the party in the state. The victories in Farakka and Raninagar represent a significant turnaround for Congress, which had failed to secure a single seat in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Follow the latest election results 2026, live updates, winner lists, constituency-wise results, party-wise trends and full coverage for Tamil Nadu election results, West Bengal election results, Kerala election results, Assam election results and Puducherry election results on Times of India.
