Kapilvastu, Feb. 22 -- A black bag of pamphlets and a hand-held microphone in hand, 33-year-old Ravina Khan, a resident of a squatter settlement, goes door-to-door campaigning in villages and markets. While other candidates travel with teams and vehicles blaring music, the former Maoist fighter hitches rides from cyclists and motorcyclists to reach one village after another. Known for carrying guns and bombs during the insurgency, she now asks for votes with folded hands, symbolically setting aside the weapons she once bore.

Known during the armed conflict as a skilled fighter, Khan handled guns and explosives. Today, the hands that once bore weapons are extended for votes. She was the only Muslim woman in her unit and rose to the rank o...