Dasmunsi's wife loses edge to delimitation in Raigunj

Ailing Union minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi's wife Deepa is contesting from his seat here but the Congress nominee has only the good image of her husband to counter the tremors of delimitation that has snatched away the party's traditional vote base.      

Shifting to Raigunj in North Bengal in 1999, P R Dasmunsi had won the seat twice. After delimitation, two new assembly segments, Hemtabad and Chakulia, have been included in Raigunj, as also Kaliagunj which was earlier with the Balurghat constituency.      

Deepa is battling against veteran CPI-M leader Bireswar Lahiri and BJP's Gopesh Chandra Sarkar, among others, in the polls on April 30.      

To the disadvantage of the Congress, the three assembly segments of Kharba, Ratua and Harishchandrapur, which had granted a much-needed prop-up to Dasmunshi in the 2004 election, have been snatched away from the Raigunj seat.      

On the other hand, the CPI-M is happy as delimitation has done it a much-needed favour. Not only does it have grip over three assembly segments, the party has a support base in the new Hemtabad and Chakulia segments.      

On her part, Deepa is trying to strike an emotional choed among voters. "I have come to you to seek your blessings to complete the unfinished task of my husband who is synonymous with development in Raigunj," she said.