NAXAL/ MAOISTS- 2009 - Indian Social Institute

has now put further pressure on the police to extend more security to the candidates. In the MohonaAssembly segment there are seven candidates in the fray, including three from major political parties. Theposters, neatly computer-typed in Oriya fonts, has questioned the new political alliances that havedeveloped just before the elections. They describe the alliances as an attempt to cheat voters, warningthat the leaders will disappear for the next five years after being elected. They are to be found throughoutthe villages of Paniganda, Raipanka, and Aliganda. Despite the presence of a CRPF camp at Adava andregular combing operations, the radicals have still managed to continue putting up posters.“Theexpectation and frustration of the local people living under abject poverty is the main reason behind thespurt in the radical activities in this zone,” says Mr Laxman Choudhry, a local resident following theactivities of radicals in the region. "The people of this block, mainly tribals, are promised the moon duringelections but after the casting of votes everyone forgets the common men," he notes. "Corruption at alllevels has made the village level a breeding ground for radicals." Another factor adding to the radicals'support base is the return of the local labourers who went outside the state in search of jobs and settledelsewhere. Deprived of their jobs by the recession, they have returned with no source of income. “Thesepeople, mainly youths who went in search of jobs, were the only bread-winners for their family and weresending money home every month. Having returned home, they are unemployed and very frustrated,”says Mr RN Mishra, a resident of Adava. The pamphlets have questioned the role of the political leadersjumping from one party to another without any attention to their ideological impact. In Maharashtra thisrelates to the Congress and the NCP, and in Orissa to the the BJD with the NCP against the Congress,the letter says. It also chides the Left parties for joining hands with parties in the hunt for power throughthe “farcical” voting system. The pamphlets call for a boycott of the elections.(Statesman 11/4/09)Maoists as referees in battle for ballot (12)Gumla: The Lohardagga parliamentary constituency, in Maoist lexicon, can be described as a liberatedland. Spread over two districts of Lohardagga and Gumla, in this constituency, the writ of the Maoistsruns. There could not be a better proof of the fact than total suspension of campaign activity on Sunday,just four days from the day of polling. Such is the fear of the Naxal elements in this constituencyneighbouring Ranchi that no vehicle ever gets down on the mud patch along the pucca road lest there isa mine explosion. On Sunday morning, the local editions of various newspapers carried small insertionson their front pages of the Maoists calling a bandh following the death of their district commander in apolice encounter in Chatra. They did not need to throw pamphlets or make advance announcements tosend the message home. Everybody abides by the Maoist diktat immediately on getting to know about it.“You cannot afford to defy them. In the past two years, there has been no Government move to counterterrorism. On the contrary with the withdrawal of POTA by the Madhu Koda-led UPA Government, severalNaxalites have been let out,” said a prosecuting officer. In Gumla district alone, 100 Maoists have beenallowed to go scot-free. Ironically, the sitting MP from the constituency, Rameshwar Oraon, is a formerDirector General of Police and currently Minister of State for Tribal Affairs in the Manmohan SinghGovernment. His close lieutenant Sukhdeo Bhagat, the sitting MLA from Lohardagga, too on Sundaythought it prudent to stick to home and function from a safe turf. Asked if he was canceling his campaignschedules due to the Maoist call, he preferred diplomatic reply saying that he had not read the morningpapers, knowing full well where the proclamation had appeared. BJP leadership here has no qualms inadmitting that they are living under the Maoist threat. “You were able to find me in the office because Ihave avoided going out due to the bandh call,” said Om Prakash Goyal, the Gumla district president ofthe party. A veteran of many electoral battles, Goyal is adept at reorganising resources. He is quick to callhis lieutenants informing them about their unavailability for a public meeting to be addressed by formerChief Minister Arjun Munda, a few kilometers away. “You have to take charge as we cannot reach themeeting ground due to the bandh call,” he says. The meeting does take place as leaders in Jharkhanduse choppers and seldom traverse through roads laid with minefields. How is it that despite the call forboycott by Maoists, there always is a growing turnout in the polls? “If the Maoists don’t want, there wouldbe no poll in their areas of influence. But like several others, the election for them too is time to make agood harvest,” says Santosh Kumar Mukherjee, a labour contractor responsible for sourcing cheap labourfrom Jharkhand for the tea gardens of West Bengal and Assam. “Bandhs like these build the atmospherefor negotiating a price. Diktat for voting a candidate can be issued in barter for supply of guns, bullets,gelatin sticks and even wads of notes,” says Mukherjee. Since the area is rich in bauxite, gelatin sticks formining purposes is available in plenty. Though a licensed explosive, the books of the mining companiesare managed to arrange supplies for the Maoists in return for the favour of votes. The big corporate too