Maoists have held a number of meetings during last month persuading electors to boycott the electoral fray in protest against exploitation of tribals by corrupt governments.
However, the administration is confident of people’s participation in the election process with heavy security to thwart any untoward incident by insurgents.
The state has witnessed less number of incidents and casualty has gone down in recent times. But the militants may strike hard at any time, especially during elections, to create panic among people. Polling in about 1,000 booths will be videotaped to ensure fairness.
The state’s borders with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha have been sealed, although there are still porous spots from where senior Maoist commanders like Ganapathy have sneaked in.
“Maoists will try their best to leave their signature on the elections,” said an intelligence officer. “They fear that if they are seen as weak in their bastion Bastar, a wrong message will go out.”
The second pase of voting will take place on November 19 in the remaining 72 seats.
