Former exits

With the death of Siddhartha Shankar Ray on Saturday, West Bengal lost its only former chief minister. West Bengal is possibly the only state in the country that does not have a former chief minister now. Since Independence, West Bengal has had only seven chief ministers. The tenure of Jyoti Basu as chief minister for over 23 years scuttled the possibility of that number going up. Till recently, Basu and Ray were two former chief ministers of the state. With the death of Basu and Ray, two long-time buddies, in quick succession, there is no former chief minister now. Will the 2011 Assembly elections fill that space?