5000 First-Time Electors to Cast Votes in Jharkhand Former Maoist Hotbed: An election official said on Saturday that 5,000 voters from Budha Pahad, a former Maoist hotbed, will cast their votes in their own booths for the first time in several decades.
Budha Pahad, located in Jharkhand’s Latehar and Garhwa districts, was recently liberated from the control of red rebels.
Budha Pahad has five polling stations with around 5,000 voters. Earlier, these booths were relocated to safe areas because of Maoist activities, the official said.
As part of a visit to Budha Pahad, which falls under the Palamu Lok Sabha constituency, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar was accompanied by senior police officers.
There will be elections in the Palamu constituency on May 13.
Voters and polling officials were also interviewed by Kumar at the polling booths.
As Kumar told reporters at Budha Pahad, “the voters here will exercise their franchise for the first time in decades. The credit for this goes to the security forces.”.
He said that elections could not be held here for many years due to security reasons. “Now the place has become safe and secured,” he said.
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Amol V Homkar said the first police camp was set up on Budha Pahad’s hilltop on January 27, 2023.
He further noted, “Since then, anti-naxal operations are being carried out continuously and the area has become almost free from terror.”
People here are enthusiastic about participating in the polling process for the first time.
“I would like to urge the villagers to participate in the voting process in large numbers. We assure to provide adequate security and conduct free and fair polling,” he said.
In April 2022, three special operations were launched to free Budha Pahad from left-wing extremists.
The officials said 14 Maoists were killed during these operations, while 590 others were either apprehended or surrendered.
Another police officer said earlier attempts to drive out the red rebels from ‘Budha Pahad’ failed due to the terrain’s difficulty.
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