A.K. PREMAJAM, 59, CPI(M)
Badagara, Kerala
Electorate: 11.2 lakh
Margin of victory: 59,248
Main rival: P.M. Sureshbabu (Congress)

So what if she lacked political experience? She was the professor who tamed an indisciplined college, a popular mayor who thwarted back-seat driving by her male colleagues. Though few women were fielded in the state, the CPI(M) chose her over others. She didn't fail the party.

Agenda: Complete the Cherode railway overbridge; prepare development plan.

RANJIT PANJA, 65, TRINAMOOL
Barasat, West Bengal
Electorate: 12.7 lakh
Margin of victory: 66,707
Main rival: Chitra Ghosh (Forward Bloc)

Few politicians substitute rhetoric with actual good deeds. When they do, it pays well for them at the hustings. Dermatologist Ranjit Panja -- the elder brother of former Union minister Ajit Panja -- helped develop a children's park in the city and has even offered free clinics in his constituency, a region hit hard by arsenic contamination of water. Social work has finally been repaid in votes.