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“I have not voted for the last 15 years. I think I will vote this time” Neelima Vetti (name changed), 45, resident, Neelawaya

Naxals have written anti-government slogans even on milestones and road boundary stones in the vicinity of Kathmandu, 25 km southwest of Bacheli in Dantewada

“We don’t have voters ID, but have Aadhaar and ration cards. I have not seen a voting machine as yet. No political leaders come here to campaign. But some of the villagers are likely to vote this time” -- Kiran Adi (name changed), resident, Bheji

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Staying alive was the biggest challenge for residents in Bheji village, in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh , in 2006. Naxalites could strike anywhere, anytime. Those supporting or helping the security forces had little chance of escaping the Naxal radar.Kiran Adi (name changed) didn’t have any option really. The resident of Bheji village, which was split down the middle on who to support, decided that leaving her home was the best way to not get tangled in the messy situation. For the next eight years, she took refuge in a relative’s home elsewhere. Many of her fellow villagers crossed the state border to the then united Andhra Pradesh, where the chances of finding work, and peace, were higher.Today, the situation in the village, in Bastar division, is much more stable. The threat of Naxal violence has abated, encouraging as many as 85 families who had fled the village to move back to Bheji. Adi, too, is back home. This time, she would like to change the situation, instead of shifting residence.The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate. Bheji will house one of the polling booths during the first phase of the assembly polls scheduled on November 12. This phase of election will cover 18 constituencies of Chhattisgarh, including 12 in Bastar division. The tiny primary school in the locality, which has just 13 students, will house the Bheji-2 polling booth.History has not been kind to Bheji-2, which had 413 registered voters, in 2013 and 2014. It was one of the 53 booths in the districts of Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma that failed to register even one vote in the 2013 assembly poll. In the Lok Sabha election the next year, only three persons voted here.This time, the administration is out to ensure there is no zero-voting booth. It is deploying a huge army of security personnel and drones to keep the rebels in check. Campaigns have also been rolled out to encourage voters to come to the booths.“Some of us will vote this time,” Adi told ET Magazine. “We are small farmers and a marginal group. We don’t have voter IDs, but have Aadhaar and ration cards. I have not seen a voting machine (electronic voting machine) as yet. No political leader comes and campaigns here.”A metal road constructed in 2017 has helped Bheji a lot. Police patrolling intensified, forcing Naxals on the back foot. But underestimating the rebels can be fatal. In March 2017, 12 CRPF jawans were killed in an ambush in Bheji. The next month, 25 jawans providing security to a road-construction party were killed in an ambush in Burkapal, 33 km from Bheji.Now that the election season is here, the rebels seems to have intensified their activity. The rebels have distributed pamphlets asking people to boycott the poll. Security forces have also upped the ante. As many as 500 additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces — which include CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB — are being deployed here.Thirty-six companies were already operational in the division, apart from 11 of the Chhattisgarh Armed Police Force. About 50 drones — 25 in Dantewada and the rest in Sukma and Bijapur districts — are being used to monitor the movement of the Naxals in the vicinity of security camps. Over a thousand satellitebased trackers have been given to personnel who will guard the polling parties carrying electronic voting machines to the booths, say police officers in Bastar.The trackers, with panic buttons, are monitored at the district headquarters. In some hypersensitive booths, the polling parties will be ferried by choppers. No wonder, 17 choppers are being used for election duties, according to an election plan reviewed by ET Magazine.As this report was being written, 153 companies of security forces had already arrived in Bastar. The personnel go through an induction training where experts apprise them of the guerrilla tactics used by the Naxals.“During induction, the new forces are given a list of strict dos and don’ts. For example, they are told how the Maoists prefer the use of pressure IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and spike-holes to target and trap our forces,” says Vivekananda, inspector-general of police, Bastar range.During the previous assembly poll, there were 20 incidents of firing on polling parties, in addition to eight IED blasts. Four jawans were killed and nine injured. Naxal presence is palpable in Bastar’s remote areas, where the reach of the security forces is minimal. In the vicinity of an illegal settlement named Kathmandu, 25 km southwest of the mining hub of Bacheli in Dantewada, this writer saw anti-government graffiti on even milestones.“Those who ask for votes will be tried in the people’s court,” said one, adding that the Jantana Sarkar, or the so-called government of the Naxals, should be strengthened. In another, the warning was directed at the BJP. Police remove these graffiti whenever possible.The presence of Naxals makes elections in the region unique in more than one way. For example, the relocation of polling booths to a safer environment is considered a normal practice in Bastar. At least 187 booths in 86 places are on the relocation list this time. This will force some voters to walk 10 km or more to exercise their franchise. There have also been instances of makeshift polling booths being set up adjacent to a road for security reasons — a practice unheard of in the rest of country.Police routinely assess the situation and move roadside booths back to the villages wherever feasible. One such example is Neelawaya, where the polling booth used to be set up outside the village. This year, polling will take place in the village school itself, which may encourage more voters to participate. In the booth, only six and three votes were cast in the 2013 assembly polls and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, respectively. An uneasy calm prevails in the village. Not many were willing to talk about elections, fearing Naxal wrath.“I have not voted for 15 years. I think I will vote this time,” said a woman resident, on condition of anonymity. “We have about 10 households in this neighbourhood. Most of us are distant relatives. We are farmers producing rice and vegetables. Only one family has a television here.”Fear of Naxalites attacking voters is largely restricted to inner pockets such as Bheji and Neelawaya. Naxals visit these areas regularly, hold meetings and extort the villagers during the tendu leaves collection season in the summer.In most other parts of Bastar, the situation is normal.In Dantewada’s Palnar and Nakulnar, for example, members of women self-help groups are undertaking door-to-door campaigns to persuade people to vote. The local administration, under the Election Commission’s jurisdiction now, had announced an incentive scheme for such groups on the basis of voter turnout.In Sukma, schoolchildren have been asked to persuade their parents to vote and submit a proof of the voting to the teacher. While one can question if incentivising people to exercise their right to vote is appropriate, no one can contest that the right to live peacefully, and not under the shadow of a gun, is fundamental.