large turnout in Chhattisgarh speaks volumes
The people of Chhattisgarh deserve to be congratulated for defying the Maoists and turning up in large numbers to exercise their franchise in the first phase of the State's Assembly election. Of the 18 constituencies that went to the poll on Monday, as many as 13 were in the districts of Bastar and Rajnandgaon, bang into the country's Red terror corridor. Yet, voter turnout registered a high of 67 per cent, with some constituencies such as Chief Minister Raman Singh's home turf Rajnandgaon moving as far up as 81 per cent.
The figures surpassed those of the 2008 election. This overwhelming response underlines the people’s faith in democracy. Irrespective of which political party they may have voted for, one thing is clear: Each one of them chose, clichéd as it may sound, the power of the ballot over that of the bullet. Credit must also go to the security forces as they did a tremendous job of creating a safe environment for the electoral process. An unprecedented one lakh personnel were posted in the Maoist-hit areas and they undertook elaborate measures to keep mischief-makers at bay. For instance, at the sensitive booths, there were two layers of security — one around the station and one at the periphery so that the voting public would be shielded in case of a violent clash with the Maoists.
More than 56,000 new recruits were trained to visually detect improvised explosive devices — several of which were found in poll-bound areas. In fact, even on Monday, as many as eight IEDs were discovered and at least one pipe bomb defused. The security challenge was undoubtedly immense; yet the fact that polling was largely peaceful — barring a few stray incidents including one which claimed the life of a jawan — is an achievement that the CRPF, the nodal security agency, can be proud of. Monday's experience also holds important lessons for the political class in Chhattisgarh; it needs to honour the trust the voters have reposed in the system. In fact, it must cash in on the support and push forth development plans with renewed enthusiasm. Special attention must be given to the tribal areas, which are the Red ultras’ hotbed.
The Maoists should read the writing on the wall. Following the high voter turnout, it is clear that their ultimate goal of overthrowing by violent means, a democratically elected State Government, and establishing an alternative structure, will never be realised. The militants will do well to drop their guns and join the mainstream as that will give them a better way to serve the people in whose name they currently loot and kill. While hardline elements within the Maoists are unlikely to take this route (and they must be tackled firmly by the official machinery), the moderate elements should be made to see reason. In this context, recent news reports that a few Maoist leaders may have ‘allowed' the people to vote — some argue that without their tacit support, such a large turnout would not have been possible — are heartening.
Across the country, those whom the Maoists claim to represent have repeatedly and decisively dismissed the extremist agenda of violence and anarchy. Be it in Dantewada now or in Junglemahal in West Bengal in July during the panchayat election, the people have made their choice.