Voters send clear message to Naxals

The nearly 55% voter turnout recorded in Naxalite-infested pockets on November 14 is an indication of the electorate���s defiance of the CPI(Maoist)���s poll boycott call and the comfortable victory of the Raman Singh government here cocks a snook at allegations by rights activists that the BJP regime was using Salwa Judum to create a private army of local tribals against Naxalites.

Dantewada, the district where Salwa Judum is concentrated, returned BJP candidates from two of its three assembly segments. So much so, even the original brain behind Salwa Judum, Congress leader Mahendra Karma, lost to the BJP in Dantewada.

The tally of BJP in Naxalite-infested Bastar region improved from nine to 10 seats, with adversaries managing only the remaining two of the 12 seats in the region. In the other tribal belt of Ambikapur and Surguja, the BJP walked away with 12 of the total 14 assembly seats. The impressive show by the BJP in the Naxal belt is a signal to the state Congress that its attempts at painting Salwa Judum as an anti-tribal, rather than an anti-Naxal campaign, has not gone down well with the electorate.

Incidentally, a recent NHRC inquiry into alleged excesses by Salwa Judum activists, including killings and rape, had failed to substantiate the charges. The NHRC report said: ���Allegations against Salwa Judum of killings are not true. During the inquiry of some specific allegations, the inquiry team also did not come across any case of rape which could be substantiated.

���On the other hand, Naxalites (Maoists) have not only selectively killed Salwa Judum leaders and supporters, but they are also responsible for indiscriminate killing of many tribals and security personnel.���

For the Raman Singh government, credited with several surgical strikes on Naxal hideouts across south Chhattisgarh, its tough approach against red terror seems to have reaped electoral dividends. Incidents relating to Left-wing extremism have come down in the state since 2007, as have killings of civilians and security forces.

Incidents were down from 436 between January and August 2007 to 363 until August this year. Fatal casualties among security forces fell from 148 in the corresponding period of 2007 to 49 this year, as did civilian killings from 139 to 95.