Anasuya Basu and Dalia Mukherjee tracked BJP's Roopa Ganguly as she criss-crossed Howrah North to try and ensure "free and fair" polling. A few freeze frames.

Taste the thunder

In a red and orange bordered white cotton sari, her hennaed hair pulled back in a knot, her kohl-rimmed eyes crinkled at the morning sun, Bamangachhi Kendriya Balika Vidyalaya was where Roopa let out her first roar: "She has no business being there." In her firing line was deputy mayor Minati Adhikari of Trinamul appearing as the polling agent of an Independent candidate.

Next showdown site was Srikrishna Sevashram Sishu Niketan, where she was confronted by a TMC mini-army. Soma Das was among them. An argument followed, which almost turned into a scuffle. Soma later filed an FIR at the local police station alleging that Roopa had assaulted her.

Panchali punchline

Off to Banaphul Sishu Tirtha in Shibgopal Banerjee Lane. Instant connect with the slum dwellers who had come out to greet her if they had voted. "Show me your finger," she asked of Pravabati Devi. The 70-year-old sitting on a roadside rock obliged. "I liked her as Panchali," she smiled as Roopa hurried ahead. But had she voted for Panchali? Pravabati smiled.

The Draupadi charm wasn't working everywhere. At Banaphul Sishu Tirtha, some voters in queue said: "Voting here is peaceful. It is she who is creating a ruckus." Roopa didn't like what she heard and shooed away the media entourage: "Will you please leave me alone? The local people are getting angry."

Slog overs

And then, the face-off with Trinamul rival Laxmi Ratan Shukla at Ratnakar North Point School. A cursory namaste later, the bouncers were traded. "She is spreading confusion and not allowing peaceful voting," he alleged, lodging a complaint with the Election Commission about Roopa's movements.

"These people are adept at making false and absurd allegations," Roopa laughed her husky laugh.