Virtually rejecting the naxals’ threat of waging a ‘people’s war’, over 60% locals of Gadchiroli district came out to vote in the
repolling held on Thursday. Elections in 22 polling stations in Gadchiroli’s three constituencies was necessitated as polling parties could not reach the villages from district headquarters due to ambushes set up by armed naxalites. The insurgents, described as the biggest threat to Indian democracy, unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the goings-on today as well.
According to an EC official, the average turnout on Thursday was over 60% with the Armouri constituency observing the highest voting at 74 %, followed by 72% in Gadchiroli and 39 % in Aheri. Not a single vote was however, cast at village Bamanpalli in the Aheri constituency which had 13 polling booths voting today. Exact reasons for the absence of voters were not immediately known.
All the naxal hits districts had displayed good voting percentages on October 13 with Gondia recording the highest at 69.82%, Chandrapur at 62.83%, and Bhandara recorded 69.17%.
Total 17 policemen lost their lives in an audacious attack on a police party just a week before the polls.
The Indian security agencies are currently in the process of launching a decisive offensive against the naxalites in the ‘red corridor’ spread across Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.