Mallika Maity, a 31-year-old homemaker, couldn’t hide her joy after casting her vote at the Sandeshkhali Radharani High School.

Maity — walking back from the polling booth with neighbours Supriya Das and Sandhya Maity — was in a hurry to prepare lunch. But she made a brief stop in front of a tea stall when a middle-aged man sitting there asked whether the trio had voted.

“Dada, this time I could cast my vote,” Maity replied happily.

Saturday’s voting in Sandeshkhali, which falls under the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, was different this time in the absence of Sheikh Shahjahan, the arrested (and now suspended) Trinamool strongman.

Many Sandeshkhali voters across the political spectrum told this correspondent that Saturday’s polling reminded them of the last “free and fair” elections the area had witnessed in 2011, when the Assembly polls were held in the presence of about 800 central force companies.

Trinamool had swept to power in that election, ending the Left’s 34-year rule.

Maity, who came to live in Sandeshkhali after her marriage in 2013, said she had only heard about the “free and fair polls” of 2011. “My experience of elections in Sandeshkhali has been different,” she said.

Maity added: “We were allowed to vote but an aide to Shibu Hazra (arrested Trinamool functionary and Shahjahan associate) would tell us who to vote for. In the last panchayat elections, a man accompanied me, took my ballot, and cast the vote himself.”

Sandeshkhali, in absolute control of Trinamool since 2011, made headlines on February 7 when hundreds of women took to the streets alleging sexual abuse, torture and land grab by Shahjahan and his cronies.

The state BJP came out in support of the villagers, and Shahjahan and his aides Hazra and Uttam Sardar were arrested.

Rekha Patra, a Sandeshkhali villager, emerged as the face of the women’s movement and was fielded by the BJP as its candidate from Basirhat, which voted on Saturday.

The two women accompanying Maity corroborated her claim, adding that the trio’s arrest had brought back peace to their lives and “free and fair polls” to Sandeshkhali.

“This is the first time I voted according to my choice. It would not have been possible had Shahjahan and his men been around,” one of them said.

A striking feature of Saturday’s voting in Sandeshkhali was the involvement of ordinary women who had taken upon themselves the task of preventing any intimidation.

This correspondent saw scores of women — most of whom had taken part in the protests — on vigil near some seven polling booths, which had over 12,000 registered voters. At least 30 women were camping near Booth No. 171 in Karnakhali, where Patra voted in the morning.

“We are here to ensure that no one can intimidate voters. We are here to ensure a lead for Rekha,” said Bina Mondal, one of the most visible faces of the February protests.

Another first was the presence of the camp offices of Opposition parties across the length and breadth of Sandeshkhali.

“Under Shahjahan’s ‘regime’, we never dared set up a camp office on polling day here. No one could even dream of what you are witnessing here today,” said BJP leader Anup Das, pointing to the camp offices of the BJP and the CPM.

Skirmishes took place in some parts of Sandeshkhali. Residents of Battala in Bermajur alleged that armed Trinamool goons had raided the village on Friday night and injured at least a dozen people.

“They beat us with sticks and warned us not to go to the booths. During Shahjahan’s rule, we could not muster the courage to ignore such instructions. Today, we all went and cast our votes,” said Sachin Das, 65, a marginal farmer in Bermajur, who received injuries on his right hand.

Police sources said that four people — two each from Trinamool and the BJP — were injured in a clash in Boyermari village on Saturday morning over the establishment of camp offices.