Pyari Mohan Mohapatra

Raighar, Nov. 26: The Maoist threat looms large over the Umerkote by-poll and this is quite perceptible in the rural pockets of the constituency.

The host of MLAs and MPs who have been drafted by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to campaign for their party candidate, Subas Gand, try their best to avoid night halts at Raighar, one of the areas that is worst-affected by the Naxalite threat.

At the end of the day, they try returning to Umerkote, about 30km from here.

The crowd of MLAs and MPs in Umerkote keeps growing and sometimes, when cramped for space, some even have to spend nights on the floor of houses they are staying at.

While each of them have been provided with two armed personal security officers, BJD’s second-in-command Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, who ventures deep into the interiors of the constituency to interact with the voters, has a security cordon around him at all times.

Mohapatra does not seem worried about the Maoist threat. He described the rebels, who gunned down party MLA Jagbandhu Majhi at Gana village, as fake Maoists.

He also poked fun at the rebel posters appearing in Timanpur and Haldia villages asking people not to vote saying this was the work of “jali” (fake) radicals.

Among the younger leaders who have summoned the courage to stay in Raighar are Biju Yuba Janata Dal president Sanjay Dasburma. “I have decided stay in Raighar, come what may,” he said. Some Congress leaders including Ganeshwar Behera, are staying in Raighar.

However, the leaders, irrespective of their party affiliation, are avoiding going out of the Raighar block headquarters town for campaigning after evening.

Congress general secretary Satyabrata Patra said: “The campaigning stops after 5.30pm. Our leader Jagdish Tytler today held meetings in the areas bordering Chhattisgarh amidst tight security.”

Security was tight during chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s visit to Raighar with policemen deployed every 300 metres. The 30km stretch between Umerkote and Raighar has been witnessing heavy deployment of BSF, CRPF and district voluntary forces.

The fear of the rebels is palpable in the rural belt. At Gana village, where Jagabandhu Majhi was killed on September 24, people avoided discussing the elections. The Gana market looked deserted with just two or three shops open. People were even reluctant to show this correspondent the spot where Majhi was gunned down.

The story is no different in panchayats like Timanpur and Haldia. “The Maoists have told us not to vote for the ruling party. However, they are not stopping us from casting our ballots in favour of either the Congress or the BJP,” said a resident.

The BJP remains worried about the threat perception, with Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh scheduled to visit Umerkote on November 28 for campaigning in favour of party candidate Dharmu Ganda.

Party spokesperson Ashok Sahu said: “The life of many of our leaders, such as BJP legislature leader K.V. Singh Deo, party president Jual Oram and MLA Jayanrayan Mishra is under threat. But we have not been given enough security. All our leaders are staying in Umerkote.”

Nabarangpur SP Niti Shekhar, however, claimed things were under control as far as Maoist threat was concerned.