M A I N   N E W S

Sukma attack part of Maoist plan to target LS elections
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

A vehicle burns after Maoist ambushed securitymen in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. PTI

New Delhi, March 11
With just a month to go for the General Election, the killing of security personnel by Maoists in Chhattisgarh is according to their already announced plan of boycotting the poll and enforcing the ban through the barrel of the gun.

On February 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had released this assessment of the Intelligence Bureau. It had been based on a document detailing the outfit’s strategy for the parliamentary elections. The document had been seized from Jamui district in Bihar on February 2. The Maoists had issued directions to the cadres on ‘chunao bahishkar’ (boycott of elections) under a two-pronged strategy.

On the militant front, the outfit plans to target political leaders and security forces. It has directed its members to make all logistic arrangements, including the gathering of explosives for acts of violence. Some leaders of the Congress, BJP and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha have been specifically identified as targets. The plan includes targeting of vehicles engaged in electioneering, selective elimination and abduction of political leaders, besides ambushing the police and security forces.

At the political level, the outfit plans to conduct an election-boycott campaign by issuing press releases, distributing and pasting anti-election pamphlets, posters and banners. The outfit has a ‘vote-bahishkar committee’ to raise issues like setting up of camps for special forces, displacement of tribals, inflation, unemployment, arrest of Maoists and ‘Operation Green Hunt’.

The MHA is of the view that there is an immediate need to scale up anti-naxal operations especially in the 33 worst-affected districts. The MHA has blamed the states saying that between September and December 2013, anti-naxal operations had not yielded results in terms of attrition among the Maoists. “The window of opportunity for operations is available only in February and the first fortnight of March. Hence, both the state forces and central forces need to conduct result-oriented operations, failing which there can be major problems during the elections,” it had warned.

MHA’s intel input

• On February 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had released this assessment of the Intelligence Bureau.
• It had been based on a document detailing the outfit’s strategy for the parliamentary elections. The document had been seized from Jamui district in Bihar on February 2.
• The Maoists had issued directions to cadres on ‘chunao bahishkar’ (boycott of elections) under a two-pronged strategy