Volume 6, No. 2, February 2005

Election boycott is normally considered as a political slogan. The political aspect of the call is clear. But how it is being implemented is not known to most people. Some might think the activists of the revolutionary parties alone are implementing the call. There is also a question as to why give this call if the parties cannot provide an alternative immediately. Some others say, "can we succeed in this call?"

The election boycott program in Dandakaranya in the Assembly elections in December 2003 throws light on more than one aspect. The various actions taken up by the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (then called the PGA) put the government in trouble. It is evident that the government managed to complete the fiasco with the help of the police.

There is one important aspect of this program. It showed that boycotting elections is not a mere slogan but part of the ongoing People’s War. And it is only possible to fully implement it through the People’s War. The erstwhile CPI (ML)[People’s War] — now CPI(Maoist) — has been giving a call for election boycott since a considerable time. The call became very popular in areas of its stronghold. During the legal period the mass organizations in the towns also took up extensive propaganda during the election boycott program. It invaribly gets a good response from the masses. Street theatre, songs, apeeches on the issue appeal to the masses as it is close to the truuth of what they see daily. As the revolutionary movement grows, the program is implemented in a more serious manner and form. Here is an example from DK, administratively the state of Chathisgarh.

The central and the state governments deployed 25 military helicopters, sixty companies of paramilitary forces in addition to the thousands of civil, district, reserve and special armed forces in Chathisgarh in view of elections on December 1st and 3rd 2003. The government started the ‘Suppression and Elimination’ campaign one month before the elections.

The Party and the then PGA realized the plans of the enemy and made the necessary preparations to boycott the elections and advance the People’s War. In Maad division the mass organizations like the CNM (cultural organisation), DKAMS (peasant organisation), KAMS (women’s organisation) took up house-to-house propaganda. They released pamphlets, banners, posters and did wall writings. There were few large public meetings. In North Bastar one CNM unit, 4 DAKMS, 3 KAMS and 2 ABS (children’s organisation) units participated in the propaganda activity in the Koyilbeda area. In Keskal area ten propaganda teams and in Raoghat five teams worked before the elections. They took the message of boycott of elections to the masses. Totally 250 youth, men and women, participated in this. In south Bastar pamphlets and wall writings were taken up. The propaganda went on for two months in South and West Bastar. Meetings and rallies were conducted. Mass organizations and the people were part of this political campaign.

Also a tactical counter offensive started in the second week of November. The main, secondary and the people’s militia forces of North, South, West and Maad divisions were engaged in the program for three weeks.

The then PGA forces, mainly the militia forces, were deployed on all the roads in these areas. The forces were ready to combat the enemy a week before the polling. Sentries were set up in every village. Signals were arranged. People were away from their homes in order to avoid being a human shield for the enemy. In fact they got their routine works done through guerilla methods. The enemy was forced into a position of self-defense. Neither the polling personnel nor the police could reach many of the polling centers.

None of the political parties could come to the villages for election propaganda. They were confined to roadside villages, those having police stations and the towns. Out of a total of 77 polling centers in South Bastar police could not come to 47 centers. The polling personnel could not reach 24 centers. They had to be air dropped by military helicopters with the help of security from the BSF and the CRPF on the ground.

Fifty-five centers were totally captured by the revolutionary forces in the state of Chathisgarh and the bourgeois media too acknowledged the fact. The call was implemented to the maximum in the Maad division. Out of the 54 polling centers there was absolutely no polling in 30 centers. The police managed to force a few votes in the rest of the centers. In North Bastar division 79 villages in Koyilbeda area, 32 in Keskal area and 25 in Raoghat area boycotted the polls. The actual polling was one to two per cent. But the enemy put the figure at 32 per cent.

The bourgeois media reported that there were fifty incidents on 1st December and that the CRPF forces faced lot of trouble from the Naxalites. This reveals the intensity of the attacks. But in fact there were seventy armed incidents of attacks. The earlier three weeks saw a total of nearly 60 armed attacks. It means that on an average there were four incidents a day. Without such an extensive military campaign of harassment of the enemy forces, the boycott campaign would not have been as effective given the large para-military and other forces in the area.

Ambush was an important part of retaliating the police and beating back their offensive. It made the police and the paramilitary forces extremely fearful.

On the 28th October 2003, the CRPF forces coming in three gipsy vehicles on the Narayanpur-Anthagadh road in North Bastar division were ambushed. Three of them died on the spot and the deputy Comandant died in a super speciality hospital in Delhi later. There was a casualty on the side of the Naxalites also. Comrade Raju (Kunjami Ithu), a member of the North Sub Zonal Command was martyred in this incident.

Sixty militia members from ten villages in South Bastar came together to take up harassment actions on 5th November. On the 11th 153 militia members, out of whom 60 were women took up actions to harass the enemy. These went on for twenty minutes. None of the CRPF forces in the camp near the station dared to come out. They hid inside, threw two to three grenades, a mortar shell and hundreds of bullets in a down position.

In the second week of November, the PGA burnt the Tata Sumo of an independent candidate Korsa Suklu, in Naimed in West Bastar. On the 12th, 4 vehicles, 3 road rollers, a finisher machine and a tourist bus were set on fire. In the National Park area of West Bastar, people and the militia remanded the polling personnel, burnt their motorcycles and punished them. The militia assassinated one police of the Special Armed Force in Gangulur in West Bastar.

On 14th November, the militia burnt four tractors bringing supplies to the police in Kunta area in South Bastar and seized the supplies. It attacked a CRPF company of 70 near Gorkha village. The PGA stopped the bus to Bejji and the vehicles to shandies from 15th November. It also checked the carts coming to the shanties and seized the supplies. The police were forced to get their supplies by foot. The Commandant of the 139th battalion of the CRPF decided to come to Bejji to discuss the problem of supplies. Before he came 45 CRPF jawans were clearing the road and were moving towards Vinjaram. Another CRPF squad was clearing the road from the side of Kunta. The former batch met with an attack near Onder village 4 kms from Bejji on the 23rd of November. Three CRPF men were seriously injured in this attack and the rest escaped from the killing zone. The PGA made another attack on the ambulance taking these injured police near Uped village. One injured died in this incident and the rest fled despite their injuries. Later the militia burnt the van. This disturbed the CRPF tremendously. On the same day militia made an attack with burmars (country guns) on police going on a motorcycle near Pamed. The militia ambushed 60 CRPF personnel returning to Basagudem after combing near Lingagiri.

Supplies were seized from bullock carts coming from Chinthalnar to Jegurogonda in South Bastar. They also fired on the police. The police had to take the supplies under the cover of constant firing and throwing shells. Some of the carts were destroyed in this incident. In the same area the secondary force of the PGA fired on a patrolling batch of thirty-two personnel on the 26th. Totally 13 clamors were fired in which the Assistant Commandant was seriously injured. A Congress jeep, the nursery of the forest department and the CPM office in Chota Bethiya were destroyed.

One CRPF platoon commander and a jawan were injured in an ambush done by two members on 16th November in Jeerantharayi of Koyilbeda in North Bastar. This stopped them from patrolling for the next three days. Totally 1200 militia members participated in the retaliatory actions related to the election boycott.

Three squads of the PGA attacked a large force of 250 police with heavy supplies and vehicles near the interior Ranibeda village in Maad division.

On 29th November the state SC, ST commissioner of Cabinet rank, Rajendra Pamboy was attacked near Modugapalli on the Bijapur-Bhopalapatnam road. Six police and the jeep driver died on the spot of which one was an assistant commandant. In this ambush the PGA also seized one AK 47, 5 SLRs, 2 grenades and 340 bullets. The police, coming in civil dress after this batch, were too afraid to fire and escaped in the guise of being ordinary people.

On the same day there was an attack on the CRPF forces in Kakirel of Gangulur area in West Bastar. As a result the polling personnel did not go to 6 centers.

On the 30th, the militia attacked with clamors on a 40 member CRPF force coming in parallel formation as protection to the polling personnel. The CRPF with modern weapons fled with fear. The Militia seized the polling material. There was no polling in this center. So the police came for retaliation on the 3rd December for a second time. The people did not bother to vote despite threats. So the police themselves finished the job. As they were returning they were attacked with 7 clamors at 9 in the night. The police scattered and could meet only late in the night in the forest. They again started at 2 in the morning. As they were reaching Basagudem they were again attacked with clamors. It was the militia. The police were baffled with these three consecutive attacks. In a fit of madness, they fired on the people doing harvest work and beat them.

An assistant commandant of the CISF died in an attack Gangulur in West Bastar on the 30th. In North Bastar the militia destroyed Kanhar Pulia in Koyilbed area. On 1st December the police were attacked in Godagatam near a bridge. They were also attacked near bechagatam on the 30th.

Militia from fifteen villages came together to attack the police in Kakanar area. They did reccy and collected information about the enemy. Though they could not create serious losses to the enemy physically they were successful in lowering their morale.

On 1st December the militia attacked with clamors and landmines the Morupalli polling center in Jegurogonda area. There were 50 CRPF personnel in this center. So they had to return. Sixty militia members attacked the police going in a jeep in the Kunta area in which two police were injured. A temporary helipad in Kishtaram was also attacked. A 35-member batch of the 139th battalion of the CRPF was attacked with 13 mines near Peeluru in the Parsagada police station area. A company commander and three police were injured. There was also an attack in the National Park area.

In North Bastar, the enemy camped in the school buildings in Arora, Sandham, Dobri and Kouteda villages of the Koyilbeda area. They were attacked. A helipad in Vruthalayi was also attacked. There was firing on the polling center in Kiskoddo village. In Rekabatti village the enemy had to retreat with auto fire when they were attacked with clamors.

On 2nd December two militia batches attacked one police batch returning from polling in Jegurogonda area in between Darbha and Vehire villages. The CRPF personnel fired hundreds of bullets and more than ten grenades. They could not reach Jegurogonda before evening. Another batch was attacked along the bank of the Thalper near Dharmaram with clamors, burmars and pig bombs.

On 3rd December the government once again tried to force the people to vote. But the offensive was fiercer. The police going to Usur town were attacked near Galgam in two different places. A group of militia seized the polling material. Despite a large number police, they could not counter the attack.

In one incident the militia arranged mines and put posters on it. The police coming with dogs stopped on seeing these mines. After a while they saw the militia trying to blast the mines. They were very much afraid and ran for cover, shouting. After the militia left, the police went near the mine and thanked the mine and god for not attacking them.

In Pujari, Kanker, the police were doing patrolling around the village. Taking this chance the militia seized the polling material and retreated. The concerned police were suspended for improper functioning. The police going to Cherla were also attacked.

In Peda Korma of West bastar the CRPF were returning with votes they themselves put in the machine. A 45-member militia team attacked them with mines and burmars. The police threw 2 inch mortar shells and grenades with launchers. Another militia batch seized the jeep bringing supplies to this police batch near Paded village and blasted it after taking the material. In another incident in Merthur area the CRPF police had to leave their motorcycles. The people later burnt them. There was an attack near Cheemalapenta also.

The BJP candidate Rajaram Thodam met with a landmine blast in Bijapur. Two local leaders died on the spot and Rajaram had a narrow escape.

In Kursukoddi of North Bastar the authorities sent the CRPF and the BSF convincing them that they "have to go for the sake of it. But do not stay for a long time. Return whether you get one or two votes". The police batch saw the reccy team. So the team immediately threw crackers. The officers heard the sounds in the walkie-talkie set and thought it was an attack of the PGA. They ordered a retreat! Such incidents were seen in a few other places also. The militia laid dummy mines with iron pieces over the roads in 100 places over the state. Thirteen bridges were partially destroyed.

In another incident, the CRPF personnel were stopped from crossing the river Indravathi. There was a harassment action on the Kohakametta police station in Maad division. Two more helipads in Chathisgarh were attacked.

On the whole 20 policemen died and 21 were injured in this campaign. Six weapons – one AK, 4 SLRs, one 9mm pistol and 2 grenades were seized.

The above countless incidents exposed the fakeness of elections of the ‘largest democracy’ of the world. It showed the enthusiastic participation of the masses in the boycott of elections that means the people of the region no longer want their ‘democracy’.

Politically, this program of election boycott in Dandakaranya took the People’s War one step forward. It instilled confidence in the masses that they can counter the enemy forces however much their number and however modern their weapons may be. It once again revealed the importance of mass base in a revolutionary movement. The program was exemplary.

Yes. The enemy is a paper tiger, when faced by an aroused mass ready to launch a people’s war.

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