The Hindu : Other States / Bihar News : Shoot-at-sight orders in Bihar

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Tuesday, Apr 20, 2004

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Shoot-at-sight orders in Bihar

PATNA, APRIL 19. Amid shoot orders against booth grabbers and a high security alert, stage is set for polling in 11 of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar in the first phase tomorrow in the face of the poll boycott call jointly given by the proscribed People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).

Official sources said shoot-at-sight orders were issued against the booth-grabbers if the lathicharge failed to quell them while trying to vitiate the polling.

Total 105 companies of the Central para-military forces besides home guards and district armed police personnel had fanned out in the 11 constituencies, with particular attention being paid on areas having ominous presence of the PW and MCC.

Police mobility between polling stations would be increased during the poll to enable the voters to cast their ballots fearlessly, the Director General of Police, Narayan Mishra, said.

Of around 15,000 booths, 6200 were declared super-sensitive and 5700 were identified as sensitive where extra security vigil would be kept.

The constituencies going to poll in the first phase are: Patna, Nalanda, Barh, Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Jehanabad, Ara, Buxar, Vikramganj and Sasaram.

All the 11 constituencies are witnessing a straight contest between the RJD-led secular alliance and the NDA.

Security measures were also tightened along areas bordering Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Around 1.50 crore voters are eligible to participate in Tuesday's exercise to decide the electoral fortunes of 146 candidates.

While the JD-U has fielded its candidates in Barh, Nalanda Jehanabad, Ara, Bikramganj and Aurangabad, its electoral ally, BJP is contesting from Patna, Buxar, Sasaram, Gaya and Nawada.

RJD, on the other hand, is contesting Patna, Barh, Ara, Bikramganj, Buxar, Gaya, Nawada and Jehanabad, while its electoral ally Congress has put up candidates in Sasaram and Aurangabad. Lok Janasakhti Party of Ram Vilash Paswan is contesting Nalanda as part of secular alliance.

Prominent among those in the fray in are: Union Railway Mnister Nitish Kumar (Barh and Nalanda), Union Small-scale Industry Mnister C.P. Thakur (Patna), Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Sanjay Paswan (Nawada), former Union Ministers Kanti Singh (Ara), Muni Lal (Sasaram), five-time BJP MP Lalmuni Choubey (Buxar) and Congress nominee Meira Kumar (Sasaram).

Bihar Minister for Excise and Prohibition Shivananad Tiwary is pitted against Choubey in Buxar.

While the NDA has made "Vikas banam vinash" (development versus destruction) its main electoral plank and targeted State's RJD government for dismal development, financial mismanagement and lawlessness, the secular alliance's campaign was chiefly built around NDA, particularly BJP's hidden "communal" agenda.

PTI

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Shoot-at-sight orders in Bihar