Odisha panchayat polls: No vote in 13 Malkangiri booths for fear of Maoists

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A villager, who did not cast his vote, said “We preferred not to vote fearing the Maoists. They would punish people who cast votes.” Maoist ultras have given a poll boycott call and pasted posters asking people to face consequences if they cast votes, officials said.

The State Election Commission has put on hold the panchayat elections in Chitrakonda block of Malkangiri district in the wake of Maoist threat.

Meanwhile, men and women of Bonda tribe cast their votes in Mudulipada and Andrahal gram panchayats of Khairput block. Bondas live in only two gram panchayats of Malkangiri. “We have stopped work to cast vote. We came to polling booths in order to give a signal to the government that Bondas still exist,” said Susma Sisa, a Bonda woman.

As the Bondas mostly live on hill tops, casting votes was an opportunity for them to make their existence felt, said a school teacher who teaches Bonda students.