Ranchi/Jamshedpur, Nov. 8: Posters purportedly put up by Maoist rebels have appeared in some villages of Nimdih and Patamda blocks in Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts, asking villagers to boycott the forthcoming Assembly elections. Similar posters appeared in Latehar district, about 150km from the state capital, on November 1 and 2.

The posters appeared amidst intelligence reports that the Naxalites planned to disturb the election process by triggering landmine explosions at several places in Singhbhum, including Ghurabandha and Patamda.

On November 1, posters were noticed at 12 villages including Kone, Banbirba and Tarwadih besides nine others under Sadar police station area of Latehar. The next day, they were noticed at Matlong village under Manika police station area.

“Chunav ka bahiskar karo (boycott election), Sonia, Manmohan aur Chidambaram ko maar bhagao (drive out Sonia, Manmohan and Chidambaram by using force),” a local resident quoted the posters as saying.

Through the dozen odd posters written in Bengali and Hindi, pasted at bus stops and on trees, the rebels called upon villagers of Nimdih and Patamda not to venture out on polling day. The posters said since the government could not control rising prices, it had no moral right to hold Assembly elections. Some posters said the polls were an eyewash.

Eight posters were found in villages under Patamda block of East Singhbhum district, the remaining at different locations in Nimdih block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district. Both blocks share borders with Bengal.

Seraikela-Kharsawan superintendent of police, Abhishek, confirmed that the rebels had called for poll boycott through posters. “We have beefed up security at the places where the posters were found. We will ensure that the villagers can vote without fear,” said the SP. He added that besides poll boycott, the rebels also demanded the withdrawal of police and para-military personnel from Nimdih. “Such poster campaign will not have any impact on the electorate as we have taken adequate measures to shore up the confidence of villagers,” Abhishek said.

However, the poster campaign did have some impact as some villagers said they had decided not to volunteer as polling agents.

At Patamda, polling will be held in the first phase, on November 25.

In Nimdih, the elections will be held in the fourth phase, on December 18.