The Hindu : Other States / Jharkand News : Despite naxal warnings, parties gear up for campaigning

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

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Other States - Jharkand

Despite naxal warnings, parties gear up for campaigning

RANCHI, JAN. 27. Political parties have geared their campaigning for the first phase of polling to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly despite the unabated anti-election campaign by the naxals.

The polling for 24 naxal dominated constituencies will be held on February 3.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati, and RJD supreme, Lalu Prasad, have already completed their first round of campaigning at different places in the State.

The BJP national president, L.K. Advani, has launched the campaign by addressing a meeting at Dumka recently and is scheduled to address a meeting here tomorrow.

BJP had changed its strategy and abstained from inviting film stars for campaigning.

Former Chief Minister and national party vice-president Babulal Marandi and Chief Minister Arjun Munda buried their differences and campaigned jointly for the past few days.

The party has also activised its frontal organisations and mobilised party workers in the constituencies to influence the voters by advocating the BJP-led NDA government's four-year rule.

The JMM, the main regional party, is not behind others. It has also intensified its campaign on the issues related to the State.

The JMM chief and Union Coal Minister, Shibu Soren and Stephen Marandi, are the star campaigners for the party and are concentrating mainly on the tribal dominated constituencies of the State.

The Left Front comprising the CPI, CPI(M) and Marxist Co-ordination Committee (MCC) are fighting the elections jointly to defeat the NDA and install a secular government in the State.

The naxals have also been active in their areas and urged the electorate to abstain from voting.

They torched the vehicles of candidates of different political parties and assaulted their workers.

They also asked the party workers to abstain from campaigning.

The state government had reviewed the law and order situation and realigned the deployment of security forces to conduct free and fair polls.

About 100 companies of para-military forces have already been deployed apart from the state armed police.

The Election Commission has also directed the State government to provide full security to the contesting candidates during campaigning.

The Commission has said it would see that the electorate could exercise their franchise without any difficulty.

Para-military personnel would be posted both inside and outside the booths during the polling day.

UNI

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Despite naxal warnings, parties gear up for campaigning