Situation in interiors areas of few districts– like Dantewada, Bijapur or Sukma– is described by the locals as “explosive” as Maoists have asked the villagers not only to boycott polls but also to vacate the area.
As one enters Pedpa village, not even a kilometer from the new police station close to Municipality office in Kirandul town, where one of country’s largest iron ore deposits in Bailadila are located, the first Maoist poster is visible, pasted on a giant mango tree.
It looks very fresh and exhorts the villagers not only to boycott the polls but “also the Government backed by the corporates”.
The poster, on a large sheet of white paper, is written with red ink and signed by the Darbha Divisional Committee, one of most powerful divisional units of the Maoists responsible for the attack on Congress leader Mahendra Karma and his team ahead of the 2013 polls.
“We have seen similar posters many a times, especially before the elections, but not so close to Kirandul, the main town of Dantewada,” said K. Saji, Dantewada District Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI).
“I’m just told over phone by villagers in Samalwar Panchayat, about 15 kilometres from Kirandul, that our supporters are keen to vote but they can’t. The Maoist party cadres have told them not to come out of their houses. This is why CPI loses as a majority of our voters are in the interiors areas,” Mr Saji said, sitting in modest CPI office in Kirandul. He said the District Collector had done “a great job” and managed to get huge number of paramilitary forces deployed in the inside areas.
Pedpa village, where the voters of Samalwar panchayat are supposed to come and vote, resembles a war zone. The roads are dug up and nearly every other sports a Maoist poster — each one details why the vote has “no meaning and deserved a boycott.”
EC notices vandalised
The polling booths, however, are everywhere. Almost every school in the area — in Hiroli, Pirnarh or Perpa under Samalwar panchayat — has Election Commission’s [EC] notice pasted on its doors.
In some instances, the Maoists have vandalised the EC notice, or painted their slogans, flags or messages all around EC notice, asking the police and officials to leave the village.
When asked about these threats, an EC official, on condition of anonymity, said: “I’m severely worried from what you are saying.”
“Seems they [Maoists] want their presence felt and we even had to carry three trucks of banners and posters out of Bhairamgarh area few days back, to clear the area of Maoist material,” a senior police official said.
The key question however, is whether the polling party can arrive on Monday morning before polling starts in the Maoist areas. Samalwar panchayat chief Nandram Madkam, is on tentehooks. “We are in a state of complete helplessness,” he said.
“The partywale [Maoist cadre] are doing small meetings in the area, nearly every village, over a period of time. They categorically told us not to vote and we are helpless,” Mr Madkam said,
He perhaps is more stressed out as a platoon of Special Task Force is stationed in his neatly constructed house in Madkamiras village. The commandant of the STF, which has arrived from nearby Palnar area, spoke on condition of anonymity.
“As you can see it is a difficult situation,” he said
“We are here for last few days and conducting periodic area domination exercises and more forces are coming in. The entire area will be loaded with forces by tomorrow morning when the polling party comes in to conduct the election,” he said. He also said they had chased a group of about 25 Maoists on Saturday yesterday but they had escaped.
But despite police and paramilitary presence, the Maoists continue to dig up the roads to stop entry of large police vehicles. The panchayat chief said many roads around Madkamiras are now cut off. “Even last night after the entry of the forces, they dug up a road behind the village, half a kilometer from where we are,” Mr. Madkam said.
