Bhavana could not help but notice the many fluttering red flags with the sickle and hammer imprinted on them in faraway Payyanur. She had never seen such a sea of red flags at her native village, Sorkhi in Haryana. The girl went to her mother. "Why are there not many red flags here," she enquired.

Sorkhi and the nearby Hansi city in the Hisar district have strong links with Kerala, some 2,700 km away. Several mothers in these two places are from Kerala. They were married to the men in this part of India, and have settled down in the district.

These Malayali women have much to tell as Haryana prepares for the Assembly polls. Baby, now residing near Tikona Park in Hansi, was a CPM worker before marriage. Born and brought up at Eramam in Kannur's Payyanur taluk, she had participated in party rallies many times.

"The campaign here is different from what we have in Kerala," she said. "Since it is too hot here, the campaigns are mostly carried out in the mornings and evenings. In between, vehicles will pass by, campaigning for their respective candidates. Though my daughter said red flags are absent here, I have seen a CPM graffiti on the road to Hisar," Baby — Deepika to her neighbours — said.

Baby said Haryana has several welfare schemes for girls and elderly women. Her daughter Bhavan had laid out a floral carpet, pookalam, during Onam, while Baby whipped up a sadya, complete with rice and sambar.

The woman said the contest now in Hansi is a close one between the sitting MLA Vinod Bhayana of the BJP, and Rahul Makkar of the Congress. Baby said she had never witnessed candidates distributing cash for votes or capturing polling booths. Her husband Ramprakash does not have any particular political leanings.

Another woman from Payyanur, who requested anonymity, said the electorate typically favoured those who met their requests and stood by them. It will be the same this time also, she said. "I was a DYFI worker before marriage. But I am not involved in politics here," she added.

KP Anita resides in Sorkhi village. "The poll campaigns here do not have the excitement and the high competitive spirit as seen in Kerala. The head of the family will decide on the candidate for whom the entire household should support," Anita said, adding that she had never seen bogus voting or rigging in the elections.

Anita, hailing from Paruthippulli at Kuzhalmannam in Palakkad, is married to trucker Sadhuram. He worked for the Aam Aadmi Party when his friend was one of its leaders. He later sided with the BJP but now is supporting the Congress.

Radhika, Sreeja, Sarojini, Bindu, Priya, Sujana, Preeti... the list of Sorbi and Hansi's daughters-in-law from Kannur, Kasaragod, Kozhikode and Palakkad districts goes on. They celebrate Vishu and Onam individually or together, and feast on sambar, olan and aviyal along with dal and chapati. Occasionally, they travel to their relatives in Kerala before merrily returning to Haryana.