Poll maths prime concern in fight of ex-eco, physics teachers

Two former college teachers- sitting TMC MP Saugata Roy and rival CPI(M) candidate Asim Dasgupta- may be the primary contestants from this Lok Sabha seat but a re-energised BJP could upset electoral calculations in the constituency that is going to polls on May 12.
Dum Dum has been a CPI(M) fortress down the years and rival parties have managed to win in only five elections here, including BJP, whose candidate Tapan Sikdar has won twice - in 1998 and 1999. He is again in the fray this time.
TMC MP Roy, a former Union Minister of State, had in 2009 defeated sitting CPI(M) MP Amitava Nandy by a margin of 20,000 votes, the lowest ever in the constituency. Even now, Roy faces a tough challenge as political equations appear to have changed in this seat that has more than 12 lakh electors.

While CPI(M), trounced in 2011 assembly polls by TMC in West Bengal after having been in power for 34 years, looks determined to win back the seat, the recent opinion polls suggest that it is the BJP whose vote share will increase and not the Left's.
According to political observers, Sikdar, who had won the seat in the late 90s mainly due to a wave in favour of Trinamool Congress and the TMC-BJP alliance, may affect the poll prospects of his party's former ally.
Roy, a former Physics lecturer and an erudite leader known for his oratorical skills, seems certain about his prospects.

"I am confident about winning and my margin (of victory) will increase this time by leaps and bounds," Roy told PTI.
Roy is highlighting the developmental work undertaken by him over the last five years and his performance in utilising his MP-LAD funds for the constituency.
But his lack of success in opening industrial units in Dum Dum appears to be a factor which may go against him.