Sentence:  The row started over who will run for parliament in a wealthy rightwing <WSD>constituency</WSD> on the left bank in Paris, a safe seat for Sarkozy's ruling UMP. Dati is already a local mayor in the neighbourhood, a job felt to have been handed to her on a plate when she was a Sarkozy favourite. She has since fallen from grace, and when she left government she took a European parliament seat, considered a consolation prize. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A district represented by one or more elected officials.