Amid threats from naxals, Gadchiroli braces for LS polls on April 11

Some roads have beenu00c3u0083u00c2u0082u00c3u0082u00c2u00a0concretisedu00c3u0083u00c2u0082u00c3u0082u00c2u00a0and street lights installed in parts of the region in the last couple of years, locals said. Pics/Suresh KK

Amid threat from naxals operating from the dense forests of Gadchiroli, asking local tribals to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the district administration has begun preparations to tackle any untoward incident to ensure free and fair elections on April 11 in the region.

The constituency has around 15.50 lakh registered voters who will choose among the five candidates contesting the Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha seat (reserved for the Scheduled Tribes).

The seat is currently held by Ashok Nete of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) who had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a margin of almost 2.36 lakh votes, against the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Namdeo Usendi. In 2009, it was Marotrao Kowase (INC) who had defeated Nete and won with a margin of 28,000 votes.

Locals want development

There is some sense of optimism among locals in the region, owing to the "wide concrete roads and street lights" being installed in the last couple of years. Manoj Garade, a tea vendor at Bardi, Armori village, said that the road leading to Gadchiroli was a narrow one but is now wide and concretised and an electricity pole has been put up" which allows him to continue business post-sunset and earn better.

Similar views were echoed by a tourist vehicle driver about better connectivity to remote villages with concrete roads that didn't exist earlier. Another local, Vinay Poonekar, is, however, skeptical about the Modi wave working in certain parts of the region, especially the ones with a minority dominance. Also, with Nana Patole, who is contesting from Nagpur this time instead of Bhandara where he had won the 2014 election using a BJP ticket, joining hands with the Congress, he might impact the BJP's vote share against Gadkari.

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Ready for D-day

Shekar Singh, Collector and District Magistrate, Gadchiroli said that his team was confident of conducting free and fair polls and that the district administration is capable of tackling any situation. "We have also trained the polling staff in using EVMs along with conducting mock voting drills for the tribals for a smooth sail on the election day," Singh said, adding that there were a few cases of naxals putting up banners dissuading voters from participating in the elections. But that won't impact the voter turnout, he insisted.

District Superintendent of Police Shailesh Balavde too stated that his force was ready to handle any situation. "Whenever such banners were put up in the past, the public turnout for voting has always been in large numbers," he added. Director General of Police (Maharashtra) Subodh Jaiswal is also likely to monitor the situation at Gadchiroli on Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi

Security beefed up for RaGa's Nagpur visit

Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Kasturchand Park, Nagpur on Thursday evening where around 50,000 people are expected to gather. R Kadam, Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur City, told mid-day that the Special Protection Group had on Wednesday apprised the local force of arrangements and "the venue has been checked as per protocol." The entire security will be supervised by Kadam himself, with around 500 policemen and senior officers deployed at the venue, apart from members of the Quick Response Team and State Reserve Police Force, he said.

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"No roadshow is expected as per the program chart received, but we have ordered for all flowers and boutiques to be screened before handing them over to Gandhi. He is expected to address the crowd for less than an hour before heading to the airport," Kadam added. With 20 naxals lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail, happenings inside the jail and their visitors are being monitored, too.

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