The Pioneer, Bhubaneswar. WEDNESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER
Even as the campaigning for the November 30 bypoll for the Umarkote Assembly constituency is approaching its climax with the contending parties going all-out to woo the electorate, pumping in money and manpower to bolster their prospects and villagers of this Maoist-affected zone responding more eagerly to the campaigns, not caring a fig for the ‘Maoist threat’, the ‘Maoist threat’ propaganda has ushered in a blame game overriding the campaigns.
On November 14, the Maoists pasted posters and banners in the villages under Raighar block, warning the voters to refrain from voting for the BJD candidate. The posters written in Odia language accused ex-MLA Jagabandhu Majhi of having indulged in anti-people activities. They also warned BJD leaders against campaigning in the Raighar area, threatening them of dire consequences.
Faced with threat from the ultras, BJD candidate for the ensuing bypoll Subhas Gond moved the Election Commission on November 16, seeking security. The Commission responded by asking the police to provide adequate security to all three candidates.
As the situation is quite normal, BJD raised suspicion over the genuineness of the posters, stating that the threat may have been the handy work of some political party intended to terrorise the people against the ruling party ahead of the election. BJD’s Nabarangpur district president Jayadev Parida echoed similarly and said some people wanted to disrupt the election campaign of his party in the area.
Senior BJD leader and MP Pyarimahan Mahapatra alleged that the BJP and the Congress are playing cheap politics by terrorising the voters in the name of Maoists in different areas of Raighar and Umarkote blocks. He further said Majhi was not killed by Maoist; he was the victim of conspiracy hatched by some of his opponents.
On the other hand, the BJP made counter allegations that the ‘Maoist threat’ is nothing but a ploy by the ruling party to restrict movement of the Opposition in the area so that they can easily influence the voters under police protection.
During the 2009 elections, Nabarangpur district including Umarkote was a Maoist-free zone. But Maoists activities in Raighar block bordering Chhattisgarh registered increase after the general elections.
The Umarkote Assembly segment has 1, 65, 133 voters. It consists of Raighar block (1, 04 496) and Umarkote block (30, 266), Umerkote NAC (21, 371). These include as many as 24, 412 Bengali voters and 60, 000 Gond voters. Sources said nine out of 24 panchayats of Raighar block bordering Chhattisgarh are considered a hotbed of the rebels. Areas like Haldia, Gona, Timanpur, Naktichanla, Kudai and Mundibeda are some of the worst Maoist-hit areas in the State. The Mainpur Divisonal Committee of the extremists is operating in these places.
Though BJD’s posters and banners are conspicuous by their absence in the Raighar block, stage is set for
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s proposed visit on November 25. The Chief Minister will address two public meetings, one at Umarkote and the other at Raighar on the same day.
The BJP is trying to ensure that the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh (Raman Singh) and Jharkhand (Arjun Munda) make trips to the battle zone within a week while the Congress party is depending on few Central leaders to lead them in the fight.
All political parties have fielded candidates from the Gond tribe. While the Congress and the BJD candidates are set from Raighar, the BJP has selected its candidate from Umerkote NAC. The Gond vote is waiting for a divide.
Political observers opine that the main battle will be between the BJP and the BJD. If Subash gains sympathy votes, he will win the elections by a huge margin. If people will vote for a better candidate, Dharmu Gond will emerge as the winner. The Congress may finish third yet again. But Raighar being the biggest area with 24
GPs and the highest number of voters, all parties have now preferred to concentrate in Raighar, trying to woo the voters door to door despite the sway of Maoists in the area.
