Telangana elections: Amid naxal threat, 13 constituencies declared hyper-sensitive

Hyderabad, Nov 18: A shadow has been cast over the elections in 13 constituencies in the poll bound Telangana, following a spate of naxalite attacks in Chhattisgarh.

The fresh alert comes in the wake of the Intelligence Bureau sounding a warning about naxal strikes in Telangana. At least 13 constituencies are under the radar of the naxalites, the IB says.

The Election Commission has alerted officials to take extra precaution in these constituencies in the backdrop of the alert an also naxalites calling for a boycott of the elections. In the past few weeks, banners have been put up by naxalites and their sympathisers calling for a boycott.

The Election Commission, which issued the first gazette notification on Monday to hold elections to the 119 constituencies has restricted the polling time by an hour in the 13 constituencies, while terming them as sensitive. The polling time in these constituencies would be held between 7 am and 4 pm, while in the other constituencies, it would go on till 5 pm. Further the EC has also asked the security forces to transport EVMs to safe locations before sunset.

Latest input:

The latest input suggests that nearly 30 naxalites have crossed over into the Bhupalpally district of Telangana from Odisha, with an intention of disrupting the elections. On their hit list are also some politicians of the TRS, the alert also states.

Acting fast on the information, the police launched a manhunt to nab the naxalites. However they were able to arrest only a few persons who had provided shelter to the naxalites. They are currently being questioned, Bhupapally Superintendent of Police, R Bhaskaran informed.

The naxals have been looking to revive their movement in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While in Telangana, they would look to target the TRS, in AP, their focus has been on the TDP leaders. Recently the naxalites killed Araku MLA, Bidari Sarweswar Rao and former MLA, Siveri Soma. The killings took place at Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam.

The IB says that the naxalites had prepared a hit list and would look to execute it ahead of the polls.

The Araku killings were a sign of this, the IB officer told OneIndia.

In this backdrop the naxalites have called for a boycott of the Telangana elections. The Community Party of India (Maoist), Telangana secretary, Haribhushan termed the elections as fake and called for a boycott to ensure the success of the new democratic revolution. He also blamed K Chandrasekhar Rao for trying to establish a dynastic rule in Telangana. He further said that he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Election Commissioner, O P Rawat before dissolving the assembly.

The IB says that the naxalites had prepared a hit-list of several Telugu Desam Party leaders over the past two decades. The IB says that the naxalites have been nursing a long standing grudge against the politicians and may look to target them.

The IB says that the the naxalites have been making big attempts to re-group. Anantpur had been a strong base for them, but in recent years, they have suffered losses. It may be recalled that a series of operations were undertaken in the hills of Anantpur and Nallamalla forests, following which the top rung was wiped out. The naxalites then scattered towards Odisha and the bordering areas of Karnataka.