New Delhi: As voters in Bihar exercised their franchise on 122 assembly constituencies in phase 2 on November 11, polling was also done in areas previously affected by Maoist-insurgency.
According to the details, a polling booth was setup in the Chormara village of Jamui district after a notable gap of 21 years. Located in the bordering region, the Chormara village was once a Maoist’s stronghold where the outlawed CPI (Maoist) had organised its 9th unified congress in 2007.
The meeting was then reportedly attended by several top leaders of the banned group. Years later, the extremists had also blown up a primary school in the area.
The district administration though this time has setup a ‘Adarsh Polling Centre’ in the village where the locals were seen welcoming the polling staffs. This has been made possible after security forces in 2022 opened a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Chormara and another at Paisera of Munger.
According to media reports, similar arrangements for voting were also made in Pichauliya village under the Chakarbandha police station and Rehal village of Rohtas.
This comes almost a year after polling was done for the first time in Tarucha village of Chakarbandha during the 2024 general elections. Officials opines that Maoist activities have come under effective control since the establishment of the FOBs.
Significantly more than 1500 companies of central security forces were stationed across the state for phase two of the Bihar assembly polls.
The state held polling on 121 assembly constituencies under the first phase on November 6. Polling was also held in Bhimbandh of Munger, a previously Naxal-affected area where votes were polled after a gap of around 20 years. Notably, polling was suspended in Bhimbandh following the killing of SP C Surendra Babu and seven police personnel in 2005.
Deployment of security personnel in adequate number ahead of the assembly polls though, ensure re-opening of as many as 7 polling stations in the area.
Reacting to the development an elderly man expressed his delight.
“Before 2005, we used to vote in our village, but due to Naxalite incidents, the polling stations were moved nearly twenty kilometres away. Elderly and women voters found it difficult to travel that far. Today, voting has taken place in our village after two decades; we are very happy,” he said.
The state of Bihar in recent years has successfully contained the Maoist-insurgency which was once a serious challenge for the state, affecting dozens of districts. According to details, only a handful of armed Maoists remained active in the state with Maoist activities limiting to a few inaccessible pockets of Jamui, Lakhisarai and Chakarbandha region.
Earlier in August, ADG Ops Kuntal Krishnan stated that the target of the police is to meet the deadline announced by the Union Government.
“Our target is to meet the deadline announced by the Union Government to eliminate armed Maoists. We are working on it. No violence activities were carried out by Maoists in the state so far in 2025. Search operations are being conducted and IEDs are also being recovered,” he said.
The result for the assembly polls will be announced on November 11.
