Monday, February 6, 2012

Maoist fear haunts M’giri candidates for campaigning


MALKANGIRI: Following the warning to boycott the PRI poll by ultras in some areas of Malkangiri district, top leaders of different political party have left the idea to campaign in the district with a risky atmosphere, which is widely dominated by left wing extremists.

Comparatively other districts are ahead of the district in campaigning, though only a few day left for the first phase of the panchyat poll to be held on February 11. Still now the campaigning work is in half-way in the Maoist hit areas like Podia, Motu, MV-79, Govindpalli, Chitrakonda, Kalimela and other interior areas in the district. Besides Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and BJD veteran Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, top leaders of other parties have not toured yet to the district for campaign.

Candidates have not shown interest to campaign in the interior areas due to Maoist fear, as disobeying the diktat may cause trouble to them like the killing of former ZP chief Nanda Kartami and ZP member Somnath Madkami ahead of the last assembly election. Though the ultras have not issued any threat to any particular candidate so far, it is a risky affair for the candidates to go against the red rebels and their order to boycott the panchayat poll.

State Government has issued notification to deploy paramilitary force at the hypersensitive polling booths for the security of polling personnel, still the past incidents of Maoist attack on the polling officials have created panic among the polling personnel to be deployed in the Maoist-hit areas. It will be a challenge for the Government to finish the poll smoothly in the hypersensitive areas like Malkangiri where the Maoists rule over more than 100 GPs.

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