India - Maoists call for poll boycott in Nilambur and in Gaya

Malappuram: A six-member Maoist group led by rebel leader Soman is learnt to have visited the venue of the three-day long annual tribal festival at Eengar near Mundakkadavu tribal colony in Nilambur. The Maoists who arrived around 6am on Sunday also called for a boycott of the upcoming assembly election. A two-page pamphlet explaining the reasons for calling the boycott was distributed among the tribal people attending the festival.
It said the police, Thunderbolt commandos, revenue officials and the Malappuram collector were threatening and torturing the tribal people who had already decided to boycott the polls following a call by the Maoists. This is a clear violation of the basic rights of the tribal people to stay away from voting. The pamphlet alleged that all the various governments in the state have failed to allot land to the landless tribal people and prevent plantation companies from encroaching hectares of forest land. It said the Pempilai Orumai movement in plantation areas in Idukki has exposed the real face of the trade unions. The Maoists alleged that tribal leader C K Janu was led by selfish motives when she decided to contest the election as an NDA candidate.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Maoists-call-for-poll-boycott-in-

Wives of Maoist leaders contesting panchayat elections in Gaya 
GAYA: For several decades now, naxals of all hues have been giving poll boycott calls and organising Jan Adalats to deliver corporal punishment to those participating in the democratic exercise. Maoists literature, particularly the write ups in Jan Jwar and Lal Chingari, the clandestinely published magazines spewed venom against the constitutional mechanism and violent revolution to overthrow the constitutional order.
No less than two former MPs, Ishwar Chaudhary and Rajesh Kumar were gunned down during election campaign. Dozens of campaigners were publicly caned and got their heads tonsured. But all that is history now as no less than three women, wives/widow of prominent naxal leaders are contesting Panchayat elections to make their red husbands MP (Mukhiya Pati) as they are called by the villagers.
Leading the list of spouses of naxals contesting Panchayat elections is Rinki Devi, widow of once dreaded naxal leader Lalesh. Lalesh was killed in a gun battle with Jharkhand police in the Chatra district on 27 March’2013. Lalesh’s widow Rinki is contesting the post of Mukhiya of the Sivania Panchayat of the nexal infested Barachatti block.
Besides Rinki, Sunita Devi, wife of Vinod Marandi, leader of RCC, the splinter group of the then MCC (Maoist Communist Centre, the outfit that merged with People’s War Group to form CPI-Maoist) is in the fray for the post of Mukhiya Diha Panchayat of the Gurua block of the district.
Though RCC (Revolutionary Communist Centre) was formed by the widow of Sagar Chatterjee, the Maoist ideologue killed under controversial circumstances in the Aurangabad district, Marandi virtually usurped the splinter group’s leadership. Sagar Chatterjee’s widow originally floated RCC to register protest against the failure of the parent organisation to avenge Chatterjee’s killing.
The third naxal spouse to contest the Panchayat elections is Baby Devi, wife of allegedly dreaded Sanjay Yadav. Sanjay’s wife is contesting election for the post of Mukhiya of the Bihta Panchayat of the Khizarsarai block. Sanjay Yadav is alleged to have killed cops and executed several naxal operations between 2005 and 2015. On Wednesday Sanjay was arrested by the Gaya police while campaigning for his wife.

According to Gaya SSP Garima Malik, spouses of naxal leaders contesting elections must be seen as a positive development as after opposing the democratic process for that long, a section of naxals are joing the main stream and that has to be welcomed. The SSP also hoped that husbands of Mukhiya election contestants would renounce violence, surrender before the police and enjoy the benefits of the rehabilitation package meant for former naxals joining the main stream. Maoist leaders, in private discussion admit that the organisation suffered from ideology deficit and insufficient indoctrination.