Even the police stations in Lalgarh are protected by high walls, topped with barbed wire fencing. According to sources, there are more than 500 companies of paramilitary forces to assist the state police to ensure free and fair polls.
Lalgarh comes under the Jhargram Assembly constituency. It will go to polls on May 7. “The constituency has 87 polling booths. Before the election day, another 23 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force and one company of the Special Auxiliary Police will be deployed,” said a senior police officer.
Though it was always considered to be a Naxal stronghold, the common man’s life here took a violent turn after a landmine blast narrowly missed Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s convoy on November 2, 2008.
A series of violent incidents finally led to Operation Lalgarh in June 2009 by state police and security forces in West Midnapore to restore law and order and flush out the red rebels.
Now, the first major election after the attack on Bhattacharjee will see a close fight between CPM’s Amar Bose and Trinamool Congress’ (TMC’s) Sukumar Hansda. The People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities’ boss, Chhatradhar Mahato, is contesting from jail as an independent, making the battle more interesting in the Naxal heartland.
“I am a TMC supporter, but whoever wins we want safety. We fear to travel after 9 pm, even I close my shop much early,” said Shankar Bagrai, a tea shop owner from Lalgarh. “We were more scared of police than Naxals. Things are better now, but we are unsure about what will happen during the elections,” said Kishor Pal, a 55-year-old villager.
“We are deploying extra forces for the region and plans are there to even airlift election officials in case of an emergency,” said Saibal Barman, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer of the state.
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In Jhargram, Sushanto Kundu, a retired headmaster and senior leader of CPI(M), admits that things have improved a lot and one can freely move around till 9 pm.
People in Salboni feel the central forces have helped bring the situation under control. Villagers in Birghosa, 11 km from Lalgarh, were all praise for the central forces. Santu Mondal, owner of a grocery-cum-tea shop, said, “The local police are making indiscriminate arrests and registering false cases. The central forces are trying to act neutral.” The extremists are believed to be on the run in the Jangalmahal. Their media savvy leader ‘Kishenji’ is no longer heard over phone or videotape after March 2010. A fragile peace has returned to Lalgarh.
But the Election Commission is not taking any chance. The Commission is banking on the central forces to ensure free and fair polls in the dreaded Jangalmahal of West Bengal.
(With inputs from Probal Basak and Pooja Sarkar)