Mornings for Sabina Yasmin arrive with a quiet, unrelenting ache.
An instinct long etched into her being stirs her awake each day — the hurried tenderness of a mother preparing her child for school. Then reality descends with crushing finality. The little girl who once filled her mornings with purpose is gone.
Clutching the neatly kept school uniform, tiffin box and water bottle of her daughter Tamanna, Sabina often breaks down, the ticking clock now a cruel reminder not of routine but of a loss she must relive every single day.
A homemaker from Molandi village in Nadia, Sabina has been trying to pick up the pieces of a life that once revolved around her child. What was once her small, self-contained world — a modest room echoing with Tamanna’s laughter — now stands stripped of its meaning. Still, she gathers the strength to carry on, driven not by hope but by a relentless need for justice.
The battle that defines her existence now was beyond imagination 10 months ago. Sabina’s 10-year-old daughter was killed in a bomb attack in June 2025, allegedly by goons linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress, in the courtyard of their home in Molandi.
What began as a mother’s desperate plea for justice has since grown into a broader struggle for security, employment, education and food — issues she believes are inseparable from the very idea of justice she seeks for her child.
For the Assembly elections, the Left has fielded Sabina as the CPM candidate from the Kaliganj Assembly seat, where she will contest against Trinamool’s sitting MLA Alifa Ahmed, who is seeking re-election, and the BJP’s Ratan Mondal.
Alifa won the bypoll in June last year following the death of her father Nasiruddin Ahmed — an election that, Sabina says, altered the course of her life irreversibly.
“Now, it is a battle for ‘Tamannar Maa’, as people have come to know me as,” Sabina says.
Soon after the bypoll results were declared in favour of Trinamool on June 23, violence broke out in pockets of Kaliganj. Ruling party supporters targeted CPM workers and hurled crude bombs, one of which struck Tamanna, who was killed on the spot.
The incident not only triggered local outrage but has since evolved into a political flashpoint, feeding into a broader narrative of law-and-order concerns in Bengal.
“I never imagined that I would join politics or go door-to-door seeking votes. The situation has pushed me into this,” Sabina says.
“People are welcoming me with a lot of love. I do not know whether they will vote for me, but I assure them that I will stand by them for their development and welfare while continuing the fight for justice for Tamanna,” she adds.
From early morning till afternoon, Sabina moves across villages, reaching out to voters through door-to-door campaigns and group meetings. The task is formidable in a constituency where the Left has seen its organisational strength erode over the years.
“It is a rebirth for me. I hope the situation will change for the party as well,” she says while reaching out to women at Station Para near Plassey rail station.
Kaliganj’s political trajectory reflects the broader shifts in Bengal’s electoral landscape. Once a Left bastion with a strong Congress presence, the seat changed hands after the regime change in 2011 when lawyer Nasiruddin Ahmed from Trinamool emerged victorious.
Although the Congress reclaimed the seat in 2016, Trinamool regained control in 2021, further consolidating its base while the Left-Congress combine slipped to the third position. In the 2025 bypoll, the alliance again finished third.
The CPM, now not in alliance with the Congress, has never directly contested the Kaliganj seat since the first Assembly elections in 1951, with the RSP traditionally fielding candidates and winning in 1977, 1982, 2001 and 2006. Sabina’s candidature, therefore, marks a significant strategic departure. Party leaders believe that sustained protests over Tamanna’s death and the residual organisational network could help revive support in the region.
So far, only 11 of 24 accused have been arrested, including Gawal Sheikh, a local Trinamool booth committee president, and four of his relatives. The remaining accused persons roam freely in the area, often allegedly threatening Sabina and her family members.
Tamanna’s killing has become emblematic of a larger political discourse in the state, where Opposition parties have consistently flagged concerns over law and order, particularly crimes against women.
“Tamanna’s murder has changed not just my life, but also the political scenario. It is a rebirth for me. The issue of insecurity has become a major concern not only in Kaliganj but across the state. The rape and murder of Abhaya and the killing of Tamanna raise questions about where we are heading,” she says.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose has referred to her as the “mother of a martyr”.
“I am fighting to stand by people in their time of need, not to escape. I will try to remain with the distressed and oppressed people,” Sabina says.
The CPM’s local unit has not been free of discord. A section of leaders and workers opposed Sabina’s nomination, alleging that the party was attempting to gain political mileage from Tamanna’s death rather than building a sustained grassroots movement. The dissent culminated in the ransacking of a party office.
The CPM is trying its best to mobilise support through grassroots organisations.
Framing the election as a moral as much as a political contest, Sabina says: “This vote is for Tamanna, to ensure justice for her. As her mother, I make a fervent appeal to people to come together to fight injustice, lawlessness and criminal raj — not only in Kaliganj but across Bengal.”
Sabina’s rival Alifa refused to comment on Tamanna’s murder. However, the local Trinamool leadership alleged a false narrative was being used as propaganda against the ruling party and government.
“Tamanna’s murder was unfortunate. The government took action. I understand and respect her feelings, her emotions, being a mother myself. But once she entered politics, she became a political rival to me,” Alifa told The Telegraph.
Asked why she had not met Sabina even once in the 10 months since the incident to offer condolences, Alifa said: “I had planned and wished to meet her several times. But the way her daughter’s death was politicised, I could not bring myself to go ahead. The situation did not feel comfortable for me.”
- Kaliganj votes on April 29