The maximum sun is on her head. She is draped in maximum orange, in an orange chequered handloom sari paired with an orange blouse with red panels and a big orange bindi glowing on her forehead. And the villagers want the maximum of her.

As Birbhum gears up for polls on April 17, actress and BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is campaigning at Mallarpur in the Mayureswar constituency. It has been one month under the Birbhum sun that seems to melt the flesh; her feet are covered in blisters, her voice is choked by the heat and endless speeches. She covers her nose with a wet, red hand towel.

The last does not go down well with some. "She is already turning her face away from us," a man sneers. Yet they can't have enough of her.

The men have promised the women that they will bring Locket home. " Edike onek lok (there are a lot of people here). My house is full of people," an old, wiry man tries to stop her Innova. She urges the driver to go on. The man turns away, livid. It could mean some votes less for Locket, a BJP worker says.

But the women, as they approach Locket, are different.

As she steps into Muslimpara in Mallarpur, a place doubly difficult because of the community's resistance to the BJP and because Muslimpara stands under the shadow of Abhijit Roy, the Trinamul candidate whose residence is a stone's throw away, crowds of women rush towards her.

A resident of Muslimpara breaks into an impassioned appeal. "We are with you," she says. "Don't worry. Go and meet the women behind the mandir in Raipara. You will get 'solid votes' from them," she says, lowering her voice.

Another woman, elderly and in a faded pink taant sari worn the traditional way, breaks into an impassioned speech. She is a former teacher of Nalhati High School. After embracing Locket warmly, she launches a tirade against Trinamul. "Women are being attacked here. Can you do something? Can you get the rapists punished?" she asks, finally breaking down.

Locket is reassuring, but says she needs their votes.

Birbhum has scored badly on women during the Trinamul regime - a tribal was allegedly raped by some in her community on a kangaroo court's order; in Sattor village in nearby Parui, a woman was tortured by police allegedly for sheltering a BJP relative.

Locket counts among her strengths the support of women, the fact Mayureswar lacks development utterly, and Trinamul district chief and strongman Anubrata Mondal (Keshto). Anubrata's bloody brand of politics, feels Locket, has destroyed Trinamul's chances.

Anubrata has, among other things, used unprintable language to describe Locket.

The sun is unbearable. The village seems to be swimming in eddies of heat. It is parched. Drinking water is scarce, not to mention other essentials such as roads, hospitals, toilets and electricity.

Not far away from a wall writing by the CPM announcing a jatra called Madna Gelo Jail-e - a reference to Trinamul leader Madan Mitra's ongoing stint behind bars - for which "booking is going on", Locket hops into a Toto. As the Toto passes over the cracks in the narrow village street, through Raipara, Mallarpara, Palpara, Shaldangapara and Kaharpara, the backbone seems to shoot up through the skin, but Locket grits her teeth.

More heat is in the offing. There could be violence on poll day. The trailers have already started.

The previous day Anubrata's men had poisoned the pond of a BJP worker, killing all the fish, she says. She has been receiving threats every day. One of her trusted aides whispers to her about Trinamul's "plans" for booth 23.

But the battle is not only with Trinamul. It is triangular and complex, as the meaning of the name of a local Trinamul leader denied a ticket.

The BJP is convinced Locket will win. The BJP may do well, feel many.

Although Mayureswar has belonged to the Left for decades, the BJP has strong roots here. From the late 70s, says local historian Aditya Mukherjee, pockets of strong Hindu voters have evolved in the area, which is close to the Bangladesh border.

The RSS began to thrive in the area from that time. Doodh Kumar Mondal, a local politician, is credited with building the base for the RSS and the BJP here.

Mayureswar also has a mythical past. Bakasur of the Mahabharata, whom Bhim killed, is said to have lived here. At a local Shiv temple, the grounds display two objects that seem to be made of stone: one is Bakasur's knee cap, the other is Kunti's lamp.

This past does not have any bearing on current politics, but the BJP's share of votes has been impressive in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP bagged 44,000 votes. People from Mayureswar had joined the kar seva in Ayodhya in 1992.

But the local hero of the Hindu voter base, Doodh Kumar, has been replaced with Locket in Mayureswar in 2016. He is contesting from neighbouring Rampurhat. "If Doodh Kumar had contested from Mayureswar, he would certainly have won," says a local resident.

Trinamul has also suffered. The contestant in the previous Assembly elections, Jatil Mandal, was denied a ticket. The unhappy Jatil, with his support base, may cost Trinamul some, though Anubrata is throwing in all his might.

It is the CPM candidate, backed by the Congress, who may score. CPM district committee secretary Manasa Hansda feels Mayureswar will be a cakewalk for CPM candidate Arup Bag. "People have given up on Trinamul," says Hansda. He dismisses Locket as an actress.

Hansda too is preparing for poll day violence. CPM state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra had come to the area and asked party supporters not to depend on the central forces or the Election Commission on polling day. "The voters themselves have been asked to be the resistance," says Hansda. "They are turning out in thousands to our meetings."

But the women still flock to Locket. Again and again, they complain of Trinamul misrule.

At the same time, some say other things. One woman, who had hugged Locket and smiled, laughs when the actress asks the women for their vote. "Vote is all they want."

A little boy, riding his bicycle along Locket's Toto, asks her: "'Ma'am', where do you live?" Then informs her, gratuitously: "All the people who are telling you they will vote for the lotus flower (of the BJP) will actually vote for the twin flowers (of Trinamul)."

But then voting is the only game that makes many, many Indian citizens feel empowered, once in five years, sometimes not even that. People and politicians will play each other. Answering the boy, Locket says she lives in Mayureswar.

From being the daughter of a priests' family attached to the Dakshineswar Kali temple, who grew up in Dakshineswar, to being an actress who took up bold characters, to being a political candidate, Locket has already come a long way, taking many sharp bends.

She promises she will bring development to the area.

In the evening, the BJP's fleet of SUVs plunge into the Shatphosla area. Locket will address street-corner meetings in Beja, Mahisha and a few other villages.

As the vehicles enter the villages from the main road, they enter a benighted land. Miles and miles of villages and roads stand without street lamps, though some posts have been set up. Only a few houses are dimly lit up. "The lamps get stolen," says a cryptic villager at Beja.

The roads that connect the villages are so narrow that it is a nightmare to think what will happen if there is another vehicle coming from the other side. They are so dusty that only clouds of dust are visible ahead. They seem to be bits of earth fallen out of the planet.

Forgotten, except by politicians at poll time.