Shortly after 8am, Ratna Debnath greets BJP workers as she enters the party office in Bengal's Panihati, and readies for another day of door-to-door campaigning before the April election.
To the rest of India, however, she is the mother of 'Abhaya', the 31-year-old junior doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024.
Look at Ratna and it seem as if she still hasn't stopped crying. But she has a smile on her face as party workers seek her blessing. She sits herself down, wearing a white cotton saree with a black border.
On the border the phrase 'I haven't sold my spine' is stitched in Bengali.
Where does she get strength from?
"From my daughter, who fought till her last breath," she told NDTV.
Ratna's world was torn apart on August 9, 2024.
Her daughter's body was found in a seminar room at the RG Kar Hospital.
The RG Kar horror
The police arrested Sanjoy Roy, a civilian who used to volunteer with the cops, but the investigation was handed to a federal body, the CBI, after her parents flagged alleged lapses and accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruling Trinamool of a cover-up.
The crime also prompted furious protests by doctors' associations; they refused to report for work and forced the Chief Minister to meet them, adding another layer to a political maelstrom.
The RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
'We want justice' slogans have re-surfaced now across Panihati, days before the first phase of the 2026 Bengal Assembly election, as the BJP works to remind voters of the horrific crime and argue the Trinamool administration has failed to protect the women of the state.
Ratna's day
After praying, Ratna canvasses the narrow lanes of Panihati.
Women come out to hug her. They have nothing to offer except condolences for a mother who has lost everything. "I have a young daughter in Bengaluru who travels late at night. As a mother, I feel her pain. She is a fighter... may no mother have to see what she did," one voter told NDTV.
Abhaya's mother meets BJP workers before the campaign
Sangita Pal, the chief of the BJP's SC unit from Panihati played down any talk of this being a 'political campaign'. It is a fight against the misrule of the Trinamool, she declared.
"It's very easy, the fight for justice may take long but people's support will make it easy," she told NDTV.
Ratna, meanwhile, hands folded in appeal, continues her door-to-door connect.
Young and old, people flock to see her.
"I chose the BJP because this was the only way to fight the Trinamool. You can see voters' response for yourself. I want to ensure every woman in this state feels safe. CBI is doing its work. I am hopeful my daughter will get justice," she said, determination writ large on her face.
The Trinamool's answer
Elsewhere in Panihati the sounds of a dhaak, a traditional drum, echo and women blow the conch, signalling a Bengali ritual performed during auspicious occasions.
Trinamool candidate Tirthankar Ghosh is on the campaign trail.
Dressed in a crisp white kurta he too meets voters at their homes. This is his electoral debut but he is not new to politics. His father - Nirmal Ghosh - is the current MLA, a five-time winner.
"I have lot of respect for kakimaa (aunty) but I don't have words for the party she's fighting from. This is the same party that garlands the Hathras (rape) accused. Kolkata and Bengal is the safest... women are working night shifts. There is no problem," he contends.
Tirthankhar Ghosh, the Trinamool's Panihati candidate greets voters with folded hands.
Women voters come out to shower petals on Ghosh. Laughing, a young woman said, "Mamata Banerjee has made life simple with welfare schemes, especially for women."
Lakshmir Bhandar (a monthly direct cash transfer scheme, rolled out for the 2021 election), has now been increased by Rs 500. "Didi (as the Chief Minister is fondly called by her supporters) takes care of us... we want to vote for her and ensure Trinamool returns to power."
Panihati's triangle
This time, it will be a triangular fight.
The Left, the CPIM, has fielded young gun Kalatan Dasgupta.
CPIM's Kalatan Dasgupta connecting with voters.
"We saw what the Trinamool did... from Park Street gangrape to RG Kar. Then we saw the BJP in Hathras, Unnao, and Kathua. They are in the same boat. Our fight is against not only political but an ideological battle," he told NDTV.
From the CPIM's youth wing - the Democratic Youth Federation - Dasgupta was arrested in September 2024, after Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh alleged he was hatching a conspiracy to attack junior doctors protesting outside the Bengal Health Department. He is out on bail now.
Panihati will vote for one of these three parties in the first phase on April 9.
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