Summary:
The ward and samiti candidates are supposed to file nomination papers in the respective panchayat offices.And now the latest incident has created fresh trouble for the state machinery which is already struggling to conduct a free and fair election in the cut-off region. And the extremists have virtually made it as their liberated zone.On Tuesday, the rebels through posters had called for poll boycott in the cut-off area and threatened to eliminate those who dare to file nomination.The guerillas' clout in the region could be understandable given that not a single nomination has been filed in the panchayats of the cut-off area though the filing of nomination papers began on January 11. KORAPUT: The Maoists kidnapping five poll staffers from the cut-off area in Malkangiri district on Friday and releasing them with a warning not to come again to the area for election work have put a question mark on the conduct of the rural polls in the 10 panchayats of the cut-off area under Chitrakonda block.Surrounded by the Balimela reservoir from three sides and sharing boundary with Andhra Pradesh, the cut-off area is considered as the Maoists' hotbed for its geographical location. "If owing to Maoist fear poll officials refused to go into the cut-off area then some other alternative arrangements have to be made," said a senior district official of Malkangiri.According to the officer, cluster centres by clubbing a few panchayats could be created where nomination papers could be received and pooling booths created.Collector (Malkangiri) K Sudarshan Chakravarthy said, "The state election commission is being informed about the developments and action will be taken according to the commission's direction.".