RANCHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, October 15 announced the dates of Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly polls, disclosing that elections in the state of Jharkhand will be held in two phases, while Maharashtra will hold the assembly polls in a single phase on November 20.
Replying to a query raised by one of the media persons about holding the polls in two phases in Jharkhand, a state relatively smaller than Maharashtra, Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar informed that the decision was taken after keeping the on-ground situation in mind, hinting that a few pockets of the state still stand affected by red terrorism.
By delving into the details of consecutive assembly polls held in the state in the year 2009, 2014 and 2019, it is evident that all these previous state assembly polls in the state of Jharkhand were held in five phases. As such, the decision to hold elections in two phases indicates the improved on-ground situation which has possibly convinced the commission to take a call.
Significantly, the announcement was made months after the ECI setup 118 polling booths in remote areas of Saranda, home for Asia’s thickest forest in Lok Sabha election, dispatching poll parties via helicopters in May this year.
Get ready for the #JharkhandAssemblyElections 🗓️
Check out the constituency-wise schedule for the General Election to the Legislative Assembly 2024 in #Jharkhand #ECI #Elections2024 #JharkhandElections2024 pic.twitter.com/mXZ04RkBOJ
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) October 17, 2024
This include airlifting poll parties to conduct elections in areas such as Thalkobad, Jaraikela, Rengarhatu and others, enabling thousands of voters of West Singhbhum to exercise their voting rights for the first time or after a gap of decades. Many of the villages of the region were earlier part of the ‘liberated zones’, where the forces have setup around 15 new security camps to deal with the Maoist challenge.
Taking to the skies for democracy: Polling teams winging it to Jharkhand’s remote corners. #Phase4 #GeneralElections2024 🚁🚁
Ensuring Each Vote! #YouAreTheOne
🎥CEO Jharkhand #ChunavKaParv #DeshKaGarv #IVote4Sure pic.twitter.com/mR5LurSPBh
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) May 11, 2024
Talking about the spread of Maoist insurgency in the state, recent years have turned out be extremely successful for the forces in tackling the Maoists and various other outfits aligned with their ideology. For instance, the state had a total of 16 districts affected by the Maoist insurgency in 2019 which has now reduced to only five.
Moreover, West Singhbhum is the only district of state placed in the list of 12 highly Maoist-affected districts in the country, the other districts which are cateogrised as Maoist-affected are Giridih, Gumla, Latehar and Lohardaga, which are placed in the ‘districts of concern’ category in the updated list released by the Union Home Ministry.
Anti-democratic stand and boycott of elections
It is noteworthy, that the Mao’s men have a declared stand against democratic process since their emergence and the attacks carried out by the banned group during the time of elections across states only spoke about their willingness to disrupt the process.
In the previous election held in the state, the extremists carried out 10 such incidents aimed at disrupting the democratic process. This include killing of 4 policemen in Chandwa in November 2019. Other than the attack on the police party the extremists had also executed two civilians’ in the same month.
Further incidents pertaining to explosions, arson had also come to light from several districts, underscoring the desperate measures undertaken by the banned group to obstruct the smooth sailing of the election process.
The ultras also unfurled banners along pasting posters, appealing for a boycott of the election before the Lok Sabha polls held in May this year. The banners and posters were surfaced in Palamu and West Singhbhum districts. Similar banners were also unfurled at other places as well.
Other than the boycott appeals, the extremists have been applying the scheme of civilian killing on regular intervals to spread fear among the masses residing under the areas dominated by them. These killings occurred on regular intervals largely with an aim to curb the participation of civilians in the mainstream.
Notable incidents of civilian killings in Jharkhand in last one year
- A former vice village head was killed by Maoists on alleged charges of spying in Gudri area of Maoist-infested Chaibasa of West Singhbhum in December last year
- Armed cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) brutally killed their former companion Nelsen Bhengra in Saranda area in January this year. The extremists shot him thrice after beating him black and blue labelling charges of espionage. Bhengra was nabbed by the forces in May last year and was working as a private security guard after being released on bail.
- The extremists killed Jiten Laguri, a resident of Bandabeda village under Tonto police station limits of West Singhbhum district in February this year. The deceased was a simple medical practitioner who was alleged by the ultras to be an informer.
- Armed cadres of splinter Maoist group Tritiyte Sammelan Prastuti Committee executed a father-son duo on charges of passing critical information to police. The incident unfolded in Hindiya Kala village under Kunda police station limits in May this year.
Steps taken to curb the Maoist menace
Though despite the difficult task at hands the security forces in recent years have done a commendable job in tackling the Maoist challenge, eliminating several of their commanders on ground along arresting hundreds of active cadres including a few notable names.
In the last two-three years, the state police in close coordination with the central forces have not only managed to nab notable Maoists leaders like Kishan Da, the head of the Eastern Regional Bureau of CPI (Maoist), and Dinesh Gope, a self-styled supremo of the People Liberation Front of India (PLFI) but they have also managed to free the Budha Pahad region from the clutches of the Maoists.
It is being speculated that the arrest of Kishan Da alias Prashant Bose alone dent a irreplaceable damage to the levy collection apparatus of the ultras, eventually resulting in scarcity of funds for them to execute their various schemes linked with procuring weapons and executing operations on ground.
In the last year alone the police and the security forces have arrested around 400 armed cadres including of a regional committee member, a special area committee member and over a dozen zonal and sub-zonal commanders. These high ranking members alone were carrying a cumulative bounty of over Rs 1 crore.
These arrests along with persistent operations in the interiors are believed to be driving force behind the surge in surrender by notable commanders of the Maoists, who eventually succumbed to the mounting pressure and have opted to laid down weapons and surrender before the authorities in significant numbers.
The list includes the like of Duryodhan Mahto alias Mithilesh Singh, a notorious Maoists and regional commander who laid down weapon before the security forces in February this year. To name a few others, seasoned Maoists cadres like Navin Yadav, Laldip Ganjhu, Abhyas Bhuiyan, Aman Ganjhu have also opted to shun the path of violence and join the main stream in the last one year. In total 26 Maoists surrendered before the forces in the last year alone.
These developments backed by relentless operations in other Maoist affected region is believed to confine the Maoists in handful of districts in the state that too in small forested pockets, where too the forces have been launching operations to push them further.
In terms of figures related to fatalities, the state has been witnessing a continuous decline barring some exception years in the last one decade. In 2021, the state recorded 25 fatalities in Maoist violence, while the figures changes to 21 in the year 2022 and remained 33 in last year. These figures are relatively much smaller than the all-time high of 79 fatalities recorded in the year 2011, according to the data gathered by South Asian Terrorism Portal
To conclude, it is evident that the success achieved in tackling the Maoist insurgency in the state in recent few years is not only paving the way for the government welfare schemes and development projects to reach the residents of far fledged regions earlier marred by red terror, the same has also promised to smoothen the process of electing the political representatives, inspiring the locals to participate more vibrantly in the festival of democracy.
