In a few months from now, there will be elections in the State for both Assembly and Lok Sabha seats simultaneously. The exercise is always a challenge to the State and Central governments.
And the security forces, which are deployed across various polling stations, have a bigger task of ensuring peaceful conduct of the elections. This is more so in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam district, where the terrain is densely forested and habitations are scattered across vast tracts of land. About 60% of the area is still inaccessible as they do not have proper roads. And, most importantly, the Maoists still have considerable presence in major parts of the Agency, especially in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) and cut-off areas.
In such a scenario, the elections this year may prove to be quite a task for the security forces.
To add to their woes, the authorities have increased the number of polling booths in the Agency areas by about 40% over and above the previous figure.
According to a senior police officer, there were about 200 to 250 polling booths in the 2014 elections. “This year, their number may cross the 300-mark. And it is learnt that the polling stations have been increased more in the AOB and cut-off regions, where our presence is comparatively low,” he says. Sources in the police department say the security forces have not been consulted before deciding to increase the number of polling stations in the sensitive region. “Though the Central forces too are deployed to strengthen the hands of the local police force, it will be a major challenge,” opines a senior officer who is engaged in the anti-Maoist operation.
The local forces comprise the district police, the APSP personnel and the CRPF battalions engaged in the anti-Maoist operation.
Threat of ambush
“During elections, we do receive additional forces from the BSF, the ITBP and the CRPF. But they are new to the terrain and prone to ambushes, unless they are supported by the local forces,” the officer says. Though the A.P. and Odisha police have made inroads into the AOB area, a major part of it is still uncovered. The threats of ambush and IED attacks act as a deterrent in such a scenario.
“We have to devise a new strategy to handle the elections and booth-level security. Probably, we have to depend more on helicopters for ferrying personnel and lend logistics support,” says an Intelligence officer from the APSIB.