March 8 is the day when the final polling of this year's Assembly elections will be held.
The final phases of polling will be held in Uttar Pradesh, politically the most crucial state in India, and Manipur, on the day.
March 8 also marks International Women's Day (IWD) and even though womenfolk in general will observe the day dedicated to them in ways to make it memorable, the following six women might have a nervous time, for it comes just three days ahead of the results of the elections in five states.
Mayawati: The #1 woman leader from UP will be the most nervous this women's day. After losing the throne in UP in 2012 and drawing a blank in the last Lok Sabha election, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo has done all the hard work to return with a bang.
But a resurgent BJP under PM Modi and the Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance will have her keeping her fingers crossed. The messiah of the Dalits and rainbow coalition is unlikely to spend this women's day with a relaxed mindset.
Irom Sharmila Chanu: The 'Iron Lady' from Manipur has become a political figure now. In fact, Irom will be contesting against Chief Minister Ibobi Okram Singh from Thoubal on women's day.
Will the activist, who concluded her 16-year hunger strike in August last year seeking abolition of the (Armed Forces Special Powers) Act, succeed in doing an Arvind Kejriwal in Manipur?
Irom will certainly have tension written all over her face this women's day. Moreover, the iconic activist is also having some issues on the personal front.
Sonia Gandhi: The 70-year-old president of the Congress did not campaign in UP, despite being an MP from the state, but yet the ailing leader cannot be kept away from the elections.
The Raebareli MP did what she could to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP (she shot a letter, a day before polling, to her constituents on February 23, accusing the Centre of purposely depriving people of its welfare schemes).
Sonia has not been well and her son Rahul has not looked strong enough to check Modi's progress. While Punjab still gives hope to the Congress, the show in UP will be something Sonia will be keeping a close watch on. For if her party receives a severe beating, despite having an alliance with the SPP, the ailing leader will be worried about the future of her party, which she revived in the late 1990s.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: The daughter of Sonia Gandhi will also have other thoughts this IWD, for this is the first time she has led the Congress from the front in an election.
She did her best to make up for Sonia's absence and even gave glimpses of her late grandmother Indira Gandhi at a rally in Raebareli. If the Congress manages to turn things around in UP in this election, Priyanka's political career will surely receive a much-needed boost and that could settle the party's post-Sonia leadership question.
If not, then there are some serious problems in store for the Gandhis.
Dimple Yadav: The young MP from Kannauj had been ridiculed for her oratory skills in the past, but as the wife of the outgoing chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple has made her sharp political intent clear during campaigning.
The 39-year-old SP leader has spoken on issues like "politicisation of the army" and demonetisation, to attacks on the Modi government. As one of the rare women representatives of a party dominated by men and patriarchal mindsets, Dimple Yadav has certainly made her name in the complex politics of UP.
The end result of her hard work will be seen on March 11 and the worry over the future of her party and husband will surely make it a not-so-memorable women's day for Dimple.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal: The central minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP from Bathinda is known for her outspoken nature and she has even sounded confident that the SAD-BJP combine will make a hat-trick by winning this year's election in Punjab too.
But given the way equations have shaped up, there is little to support her claim. After ruling for 10 years, the SAD-BJP government looks unlikely to benefit the tri-polarisation of the vote bank in Punjab.
Kaur's job will be safe but her party's fate might not. Will Harsimrat, wife of Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, keep a low profile this women's day?
