BHUBANESWAR: Politicians have now become the latest target of Maoists. The gunning down of Jagabandhu Majhi, Umerkote MLA, and abduction of Laxmipur MLA Jhina Hikaka by the Left-wing extremists (LWEs) point towards the vulnerability of elected representatives in the Red zone. In a press note released during the hostage crisis, the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the CPI (Maoist) had said the MP and the MLAs of Koraput district are in their cross hairs. The situation is similar in other Maoist- affected areas of the State. Maoists have spread their base to 24 out of 30 districts making open movement of people’s representatives risky. Sources maintained that the success of the Maoists in three kidnap cases in the last two years has made them audacious. The then Malkangiri collector R Vineel Krishna was kidnapped in February, 2011. Abduction of two Italian nationals and the MLA followed in March, 2012. The trend suggests that after eliminating scores of civilians and small-time political activists in different parts of the State, the Maoists have now targeted the MLAs and MPs. ‘’This is a new trend in Odisha. Though Maoists are active in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, they have not used this strategy,’’ a senior minister said. The Hikaka incident has made people’s representatives in the Maoist-affected areas vulnerable. Even though the Laxmipur MLA is a free man now, his future is uncertain. Hikaka was scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Monday. However, he has put off the visit. “I will go to Bhubaneswar after two days,” he told this paper. A Maoist audio tape had claimed that Hikaka promised to resign as MLA and sever all ties with the BJD in the praja court which decided to release him. Reacting to reports that Maoists will release another audio tape to make the issue of his resignation clear, Hikaka said he is not sure about the timing of the audio tape. “How can I say when will they issue an audio tape,” he said. Sources said Hikaka had been given 15 days from April 25 by the Maoists to resign from the Assembly. Senior BJD leaders said such an ultimatum on an MLA was not acceptable and the party would never accept it. But there has been no official reaction on this issue. Naveen has also avoided reacting to the issue. The worrying factor is that a large number of ward members were elected uncontested in Maoist-affected areas in panchayat polls. It is said that a majority of them are Maoist sympathisers. A Congress MP from a Maoist-affected area said the situation was serious at the field level. About 70 MLAs and at least 10 MPs are under constant threat.
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