Raman Singh's Rajnandgaon seat heads to polls under the shadow of naxal violence

NEW DELHI: Rajnandgaon is one of several districts in Chhattisgarh battling Maoist insurgency. It goes to polls in the first of the two-phase Assembly elections in the state on November 12.

The Left-wing extremists in the state, or Naxals, have called for a boycott of elections. According to police sources, they have claimed that they will make it difficult for leaders of the ruling BJP to campaign even in Rajnandgaon—the home seat of Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Violence in the region has been on a decline since the three deadly attacks in 2009, in which 30 police personnel were killed.

According to the locals, Rajnandgaon district— which has six assembly segments—witnessed development after Singh was elected MLA in 2004 from Dongargaon constituency. However, joblessness, rising fuel prices and broken roads, especially in rural areas, remain irritants. Adding to the woes is upper caste anger towards the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre which has passed the stringent SC and ST (Prevention of Attrocities) Act.

To woo away voters, the Opposition has mounted an attack on Singh, levelling charges of corruption against his son, Abhisek Singh, who is also a parliamentarian from a constituency which is also known as Rajnandgaon.