The Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency, which goes to polls on Thursday, might have a gradual shift in favor of the Congress party. This is because the left-wing extremist groups, suddenly, instead of boycotting elections, have asked the tribals to vote against the BJP. They do not want the tribals to vote for BJP and have conveyed this message loud and clear.
The Maoists have a strong hold over the constituencies of Gadchiroli, Aheri, Armori and Gondia’s Amgaon, which makes it difficult for the contestants to campaign. The extremists have allegedly asked villagers to not vote for BJP. Ashok Nete is the the saffron party’s contestant from Gadchiroli-Chimur.
It is an indication that the Modi government has seriously hurt them and now they are trying their best to make sure that it does not secure a second term. They even changed their idea about boycotting elections to show their dissent. Let us not forget that the Maoist appeal and order to boycott the entire election campaign and not just a party. This time they have asked to ‘not vote for BJP’ and vote for their opponents. This makes it obvious that the left-wing extremists have had problems with the ruling government. The BJP government has acted upon major left-wing extremist violence and the Maoists are now therefore certain about the regime of their choice.
With the BJP in power and the launch of “Samadhan” Maoists are in trouble. The scheme was launched to wipe out the left-wing extremism in India, through development work. These Maoists have vigorously campaigned against BJP and projected them as “right-wing fascist”
The situation for the BJP contestants becomes a little more sensitive. The incident in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district where Maoist killed the lone BJP MLA from Bastar region, along with 4 police officers has brought concerns over safety of the BJP politicians. These incidences have been strongly condemned by the Central Government. In case of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli region, the outright protest might put the politician’s lives at risk. This, however, would not lessen the spirits of election or the campaigning by the politicians.
This has been proved by the large number of voters who have turned out to vote in the area, the polling percentage has shown a remarkable 65% of voter turnout percentage in 2009 and 2014. One should not forget that 2014 was the year of the historical win for the saffron party. The diktat does not seem to bother the voters from exercising their right to vote. The left-wing extremist groups fear that NDA regime, which has been successful in crushing the Maoist violence across the country, might come to power once again.
The Times of India reported through a reliable source, “Maoists never support any candidate but they have told village to shun BJP as a party” The source also said that these Maoists have tried to sabotage the elections. The district administration in this regard has taken important security measures to ensure a smooth and safe electoral process. In the last years, posters having pictures of eminent national BJP leaders have been put up and tagged with terms like “anti-mass leaders”. BJP and its work to stop the violence of the left-wing extremist groups have been fruitful in stopping violence in many states. It is quite natural for these violent and radical groups around the country to have problems for the BJP.