FREE AGENT. From boardroom to the poll booth

Late Jagmohan Dalmiya’s reputation for changing the face of cricket administration in the country has lent a rare brand to his daughter Vaishali.

So far involved in the family’s construction business, with a latent desire for social work, Vaishali Dalmiya, 47, is now the Trinamool candidate from the largely urban Bally Assembly constituency in north Howrah, an hour’s drive from Kolkata.

“For some time, I was close to the party. Last year, I expressed my desire to Didi (Mamata Banerjee) to be more active. She gave me the opportunity to serve people. For weeks now, I have plunged into the campaign,” Vaishali told BusinessLine .

“She is working hard. The whole day she is undertaking padayatra, attending workers’ meetings, and speaking to voters,” said Tanmoy, a party worker.

Bishu, a middle-level party functionary, said: “She has easy ways of connecting with people. Her fluency in Hindi, Bengali and English is going well in this constituency having mixed voters.”

Born in a Marwari family of Kolkata to a Bengali mother, Vaishali can relate to the different communities. Bally has a sizable Hindi-speaking population including Marwaris. In the 2011 Assembly election, the constituency’s Hindi-speaking voters are believed to have backed the previous Trinamool candidate Sultan Singh. However, observers say that in the 2014 Parliamentary election, these votes swung in favour of the BJP.

Trinamool’s local party machinery appears happy with Vaishali’s approach to the campaign. “She is able to generate instant goodwill with her infectious smile,” said Minoti, a local of Howrah, who took a selfie with Vaishali.

There is hope that she will do ‘something’ to rejuvenate the industrial units in the area.

Unlike typical hard-nosed politicians, she makes promises with a difference. “She promised to reopen a primary school in the area, which is now lying closed because of official neglect, if necessary, with her own personal contribution,” said Pratibha, a Trinamool worker.

Vaishali seems to be in direct contest with CPI(M) candidate Soumendranath Bera, who is a seasoned politician but new to the constituency. Though the BJP is contesting the seat, the strategy appears weak and the campaign rather low-key.

“I am doing my bit to reach out,” Vaishali said. The rest is being taken care of by the grassroots party functionaries.

Will the Bengal cricketing fraternity bat for her? “Sourav Ganguly has promised to lend support to my campaign in the Bengali New Year beginning on April 14. A schedule is being prepared for Sourv’s attendance,” she said.

The former Indian skipper is a long-time family friend. “Now that the T20 championships are over, Sourav would be able to give us dates,” she added.

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