One of only two lady district magistrates in Bihar, Preyashi conducted the panchayat and the 2005 assembly polls in her last jurisdiction as sub divisional officer in Barh, near Patna. Known for being a no-nonsense and bold officer, under her supervision, Barh, otherwise infamous for its gun-power, saw an incident-free panchayat election.

"In Siwan, the 2005 assembly election was a landmark. It was largely peaceful and I think it will be peaceful this time. The rule of law is visible," she says.

In an effort to encourage voters to come out to cast their vote, the administration has been playing a film in local cinema halls, at community centres and on the local cable television network, telling voters how to vote.

The district election control room has been entrusted with the task of gathering feedback from local residents in order to assess the situation near polling booths.

Preyashi has been spending hours out in the field, meeting voters, inspecting campaign vehicles herself, assessing the security at the polling booths and spreading the word that the strictest action will be taken against anyone who breaks the law on polling day.

"You have to delegate and trust. The grassroot work force has to be motivated and you have to lead by example," says the district magistrate who has built up a credible reputation in her relatively short career.

She is known to have taken on controversial Janata Dal-United legislator Anant Singh in Mokama in an earlier stint when she sealed all his food grain godowns after the state government ordered that all godowns in the state be shifted to market committees.

As the Returning Officer in Siwan, she is responsible for the conduct of the election.

Following a rigorous schedule for several weeks now -- her day ends in the wee hours of the morning and the phones begin to ring from 6 am onwards -- she is making an enormous effort to see that Siwan witnesses a fair election.

"This chair (the DM's) is asexual. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman. Everyone here calls me 'Sir'," she says with a smile when we asked her about being a woman at the helm of affairs.