All the surrendered Maoists from Andhra Pradesh have already enrolled as voters, says Hrishikesh, Sub-Inspector, ASR police Special Branch on the Left-Wing Extremism.
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CHINTOOR (ASR DISTRICT)
In 2021, a divisional committee member of the banned Communist Party of India CPI (Maoist) surrendered earlier than the erstwhile East Godavari district police and the Andhra Pradesh police division claimed that he joined mainstream politics after growing an affinity with democracy.
“The surrendered Maoist is now the head of a youth wing of the ruling YSRCP in the Godavari Agency in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district. He is also actively involved in the ongoing election campaign,” the ASR police claimed.
The former Maoist seems to comply with the trail of Danasari Seetakka, Telangana Congress Minister, who additionally gave up the Maoist ideology and joined the Congress occasion to pursue lively politics.
Since 2022, as many as 125 Maoists and Maoist sympathisers related with numerous Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) teams within the Red Corridor have surrendered earlier than the ASR district police.
Of the entire surrendered Maoists, 87 are natives of Andhra Pradesh, 22 belong to Odisha, and 16, together with six who surrendered earlier than Visakhapatnam police on April 22, are natives of Chhattisgarh.
Right to Franchise
“All the surrendered Maoists have already enrolled as voters in Andhra Pradesh. They are also set to exercise their franchise in the 2024 elections. They have been leading a normal life since they joined the mainstream,” mentioned Mr. Hrishikesh, Sub-Inspector, ASR police Special Branch on the Left-Wing Extremism.
For the 87 Maoists who surrendered in 2022 within the State, the 2024 elections would be the venue to showcase their religion in democracy by exercising the best to franchise. A majority of the surrendered Maoists are tribes of the Godavari valley—Konda Reddi, Koya and Murias—who migrated from Chhattisgarh and settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
On the vote enrolment train, the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA-Chintoor) Project Director Kavuri Chaitanya informed The Hindu: “Every citizen residing for six months in an area is entitled to get the vote in the respective area as claimed by the citizen. Everybody, including surrendered Maoists, gets the vote if they meet the criterion of ‘Ordinary Citizen”.
The one that resides in the identical place for six months is known as the ‘Ordinary citizen’ and is entitled to enrol his vote in the identical place. A surrendered Maoist, solely after collaborating within the elections by voting can get a whole style of democracy.