18 seats go to polls today in the shadow of violence
BSF jawan killed, IED blasts, tight security in interiors
RAIPUR: Gunshots and explosions rang out of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, killing a Border Security Force (BSF) officer and a Maoist in two separate incidents of violence a day before the first phase of assembly elections in 18 sensitive seats in the insurgency-hit state that has seen a string of attacks in the run-up to polling.
Voting will be held on Monday across seven districts in Maoistaffected Bastar region and Rajnandgaon district, where officials have deployed 100,000 security personnel and pressed helicopters into service to airlift polling staff to booths.
At least six attacks by suspected Maoists, who have asked people to boycott the elections, have killed 14 people, including a Doordarshan cameraperson covering the elections, in the past 15 days.
The state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, which has launched an aggressive campaign to return to power after 15 years, are hopeful of a good showing in the first phase.
Five years ago, the Congress won 12 of these 18 seats, months after an audacious attack by Maoists in Bastar that killed at least 25 people, including senior party leaders.
Hours before polling, state Congress vice-president Ghanaram Sahu announced his resignation
from the party on Sunday night, becoming the second senior leader to quit the party ahead of elections.
“The first phase of polling is very important for both parties. The pattern and polling will reflect the political mood in Chhattisgarh,” said Raipurbased political commentator Ashok Tomar.
In a three-way contest, another player — an alliance of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and former Congress chief minister Ajit Jogi’s Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) — is looking to play a crucial role in shaping the outcome.
The next and last phase of the Chhattisgarh elections will be held on November 20.
Political pundits are keenly watching the polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana, which come months ahead of next year’s general elections.
The 2013 polls for Chhattisgarh’s 90 assembly constituencies were close, with the BJP winning 49 seats and the Congress 39. The difference in vote share between them was less than one percentage point. Mayawati’s BSP secured one seat and the other went to an independent.
In Monday’s polling, there are over three million registered voters spread across 18 constituencies. As many as 190 candidates are in the fray, including chief minister Raman Singh, who is contesting the Rajnandgaon seat, and two other ministers. A total of 4,336 polling booths have been set up, the police said. In 10 constituencies, polling will be held from 7am to 3pm; others will vote from 8am to 5pm.
“We are using all methods to ensure that polling takes place in (Maoist) affected areas,” said special director general of police (Naxal operations) DM Awasthi, adding that 10 helicopters were being used to send electronic voting machines and polling staff to 210 sensitive booths.
“A total of 660 companies of paramilitary forces have been sent by the Centre and we have about 300 companies here... the number of personnel deployed in the region is about 90,000 to 100,000,” Awasthi said.
He said the entire Bastar region was sensitive because Maoists “are using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on the roads”.
Awasthi added that Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada and Narayapur were the most-sensitive districts in this phase.
On Sunday, Mahendra Singh, a 28-year-old BSF sub-inspector and a resident of Rajasthan, was killed after Maoists reportedly triggered IED blasts in Kanker district around 8:30am when a security team was on a patrol. In another incident, a Maoist was shot dead in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district.
Suspected Maoists blew up a bus in Dantewada on Thursday, killing four civilians and a Central Industrial Security Force jawan. And on October 30, three policemen and Doordarshan cameraperson Achyutanand Sahu were killed in a Maoist attack in Dantewada.
“Maoists are frustrated due to the continuous pressure of security forces...The government is determined to eradicate Maoists from Bastar,” said BJP spokesperson Sacchinand Upasane.
But Congress spokesperson and senior leader RP Singh said the state government has failed to curb violence. “In 2003, when the Congress government was in power, there were only three blocks that were Maoist-affected, and now 15 districts are under the grip of Maoism,” he said.
Political analyst Tomar said Maoists wanted to pose hurdles to the polling process after giving a boycott call.
The results will be announced on December 11, along with the other four poll-bound states.