A day in the life of Mahiya Mahi's election run
Mahiya Mahi is running as an independent candidate for the Rajshahi-1 constituency, for which she has been allotted the "truck" as her electoral symbol
On a misty winter Sunday, Mahiya Mahi left her Rajshahi home in Mundumala area on a mission.
Just as she was leaving, she embraced her baby boy, almost as if to get a 'good luck' wish for the day.
It was another day for the Dhallywood actor to dive deep into her first-ever election run.
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Mahiya Mahi is running as an independent candidate for the Rajshahi-1 constituency, for which she has been allotted the "truck" as her electoral symbol.
Mahiya's home in Mundumala on Sunday morning was crowded with people coming from far and wide to meet her.
Her journey started around 9:30am, with her husband Rakib Sarker. Her entourage followed.
Mahiya's husband in a Land Cruiser, and her campaign convoy riding through the town's narrow, bumpy roads, roamed the rural areas of Tanore and Godagari upazilas, going door-to-door for votes.
The first stop was Godagari upazila's Jairampur, a large village with mud houses.
As soon as people heard that Mahiya was coming to visit, an eager crowd gathered around to see her in person.
Mahiya touched the feet of the elders, embraced the children and interacted with throngs of men and women who had come to see her.
In a warm gesture, she was gifting kids toy trucks. Her staff said she'd purchased around 50,000 of those to give to the kids.
Later, the meetings continued through other areas, including Mohammadpur, Ramdevpur, Chatnipara and Jhikrapara which switched to a late night procession at Babudaing Para in Rishikul.
During this time, she travelled 170 kilometres and held at least ten meetings and met with hundreds of men and women.
Many even got the chance to take selfies with the actress.
Star-struck, a woman was seen climbing the roof of her house to catch a glimpse of Mahiya.
In the evening, a tribal fair was held at Ramdevpur in Tanore where Mahiya met with the town's tribal men and women, who even participated in her procession.
Sitting at Mundumala Bazar around 5:30pm that day, Mahiya Mahi spoke candidly about how she finds politics complicated, given that she is an artist.
"Politics seems complicated to me. I don't understand politics that much. I am an artist. My job is to serve the people. And I look at everything simply – because artists are simple and gentle. I can get close to so many people because my husband is supporting me."
Such a heavy day taking a toil on the actress was obvious, as she said, "We have not eaten since morning. My head is spinning. But there is no other option. We have to work. We must reach everyone here. There is no time to breathe even."
She also said her persistence is her driving force throughout this venture.
"This is my persistence. Stubbornness can be a formidable force if used positively. And if you want to work for the people and give them the respect they deserve, you need this persistence."
Locals find Mahiya very empathetic and approachable.
Runa, a homemaker of East Bamnail Nichpara village, said, "We want to vote for Mahiya Mahi because she is a woman, as are we. Only women will understand the pain of other women. And we want to vote for such people whom we can always find in happiness and sadness."
However, Ataur Rahman of Chatnipara, Godagari said he believes Mahiya would win by a huge margin if she had the manpower.
"I can see the presence of many people in her campaign. Everyone has accepted her. But she needs more manpower. Mahiya, however, considers all people as her own workforce."
