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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh who had once called naxalism a "virus", Undoubtedly, naxal menace has infested as many as 13 states, 70 districts and claimed lives of over four thousand people, including security personnel, in the last ten or fifteen years. However, our esteemed political leadership did not deem fit to include naxalism as a poll issue as far as this concerned.
The reason why naxalism is not really a poll issue is that it does not influence or affect voting pattern even in the 25 Naxal infested constituencies. This is simply a fallout as red ultras do issue diktats for electorates to boycott polls but could seldom implement it in a manner to affect the political establishment. This, however, could not unmask the gravity of the situation.
The 25 severely naxal-affected parliamentary constituencies are Khammam, Karimnagar, Warangal and Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh; Aurangabad, Jahanabad and Gaya in Bihar; Chatra, Hazaribagh, Lohardaga, Palamau and Singhbhum in Jharkhand; Bastar, Kanker, Surguja and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh; Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh; Gadchiroli and Bhandara in Maharashtra; Deogarh, Koraput, Sundargarh and Sambalpur in Orissa and Burdwan and Midnapur in West Bengal. Surprisingly, 15 of these 25 constituencies recorded higher percentage of votes in 2004 as compared to1999 elections. Does it mean that naxalites are preferring ballot to bullet?
A probable explanation to this jigsaw puzzle lies in the fact that naxals generally find a solace in the local politicians who use them as pawns in securing their forte. In Jharkhand, where almost all the districts are affected by naxals, three naxal leaders are contesting polls. They are Anjani Pandeya of CPI (ML) from Ranchi, G Dinkar from Palamu and Kameshwar Baitha from Chatra Lok Sabha seat.
In Andhra Pradesh, the state which has witnessed worst onslaught of Red Ultras, surrendered naxals have failed to invoke public sympathy and have also failed to break the ground as far as assembly or parliamentary elections are concerned. Even though, naxal violence has claimed over 4,000 lives in the last 10 years or so, it is not an election agenda.
