Voting facilitated in 11 Jharkhand hamlets 1st time

For the first time since the formation of the separate state of Jharkhand, voters in the once-Naxal affected Boodha Pahad area will vote in their villages on May 13. Boodha Pahad, the difficult mountain surrounded by dense forests about 150 km from state capital Ranchi, is spread across Latehar and Garhwa districts along the Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border. It was home to Naxals, including the dreaded commander Arvind. Between April and September 2022, CRPF and local police conducted three operations -- Operation Octopus, Bulbul and Thunder -- to free Boodha Pahad from Naxalites. The area was declared Naxal-free in September 2022.

As per official data, 14 Naxals were killed in encounters and about 590 either surrendered or were arrested. In January 2023, the then Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren visited the area and announced a ₹100-crore package for the development of the area.

Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be the first time that 2,476 voters in 11 villages of Bargarha block in what was once core Naxal territory, will vote inside their villages. The voters are registered in four polling booths (number 420, 421, 425 and 426). The area comes under Palamu constituency, which is one of the four segments that will vote on May 13. Speaking to ET, Jharkhand chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar said, "The place is very remote. I visited the area to inspect poll preparations. We had to use choppers as the road conditions are very bad. But now the area is Naxal free. So, this time, the voters will vote inside their villages."


When there is a security threat, the polling booths are shifted to safer locations near road heads. This requires the voters to walk several kilometres to cast their votes, sometimes affecting the voter turnout. The voter turnout was 45.07% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and even lower at 42.28% in the assembly elections a few months later.