Laxmi, Vaishali to bat for more sports, tourism

Vaishali Dalmiya, daughter of the late BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, who won from Bally on a Trinamool Congress ticket, had campaigned hard for development in her constituency. She spent Thursday at her home in Dalmiya House in South Kolkata celebrating with the rest of her family, cutting a cake and spending time with her son. Uppermost on her agenda are three things, more industry for Liluah, more cricket and football facilities for the residents and new tourism initiatives. 

“I have already spoken to some corporates about investing there. A land bank is also being prepared,” said Dalmiya, who specialises in architectural design and is a pro at marketing various projects.

With ex-India cricket captain and CAB President Sourav Ganguly  playing a match in her constituency as part of her poll campaign, one could have guessed that Bally will get more sports facilities if she wins. 

“I will see to it that a stadium, clubhouse and cricket coaching facilities improve there,” Vaishali Dalmiya told Millennium Post. Dalmiya defeated her nearest rival Anjan Bera of the CPI(M) this time. 

Interestingly, Dalmiya’s constituency has a lot of ghats, temples and houses the Belur math. 

“I plan to start Ganga aarti in the tradition of Benaras so that the place becomes a tourist attraction,” she said. Vaishali had also campaigned on boats using the waterways of her constituency.

Another new Trinamool Congress candidate, the 35-year-old cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla also won the Howrah (North) seat on Thursday. The ex-Bengal Ranji all-rounder polled 61,917 votes to defeat 

heavyweight Congress candidate Santosh Pathak and celebrity BJP candidate and former actress Rupa Ganguly.

His political idol, Mamata Banerjee, campaigned for him and Vaishali Dalmiya in the run up to the elections. Shukla said that he plans to set up a cricket academy and a women’s college in North Howrah.  He also plans to improve the drainage system of his constituency which faces water-logging during the monsoons. 

He campaigned hard on bike and door to door and when the campaigning was over, watched all the IPL matches and played cricket with his son.