NABARANGPUR: The constituency has been largely affected by Maoists with as many as 15 gram panchayats being dominated by the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit.Of this, 12 are in Raighar block and the rest three in Umerkote.The classification of booths by the administration also indicates the area of Maoist dominance.Of the 162 booths, 70 have been identified as sensitive and 67 as hyper-sensitive.Only 25 booths are considered nonsensitive in Umerkote constituency.The Maoists have so far killed five persons in Raighar block and torched the Kundei police station.Besides, they are also alleged to have killed the sitting MLA Jagabandhu Majhi.Recently, Maoist posters appeared at various places in Raighar block and parts of Umerkote where the outfit asked people to stay away from the poll and alleged exploitation and harassment of people by the BJD.Sources said the Maoist domination over the area is primarily due to lack of development activities by both the State and the Centre.Even as crore of rupees are being pumped into the district by both State and Centre, development is a far cry.People are of the opinion that the funds mostly benefit the government officers and politicians more than the poor beneficiaries.However, the BJD and Congress are canvassing on the development planks to woo the voters, who are mostly illiterate.The contentious issue of provision of forest land rights is also being highlighted.Demands were regularly put forth by the tribals to settle the forest lands in their favour.The Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006, came as a sigh of relief for them.In Umerkote and Raighar tehsils, certificates of title have been issued to 13,000 persons under this Act that was put in place by the Congress-led UPA Government.However, the BJD’s star campaigner Naveen Patnaik during his visit here, claimed that his party had been demanding enactment of this Act since 2000.The BJP, on other hand, claimed that the NDA government had initiated the Act before even Congress thought about it.This apart, the deteriorating law and order situation in Umerkote will be an issue in the bypoll.The State Government’s failure to protect the sitting MLA Majhi and murder of nearly a dozen Gond tribals in recent months has put the ruling BJD on the defensive.
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