Bhubaneswar: Faced with threat from
Maoist ultras, BJD candidate for the ensuing bypoll for
Umarkote assembly seat, Subhas Gond, on Wednesday moved the Election
Commission seeking security.
"Our candidate from Umarkote has informed the Election
Commission about the threat from Maoists. I am hopeful that
adequate security arrangement will be made," Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik, who is also BJD president, told reporters
here.
Gond, who was a close associate of the slain BJD MLA
Jagabandhu Majhi, is contesting the bypoll scheduled to
be held on November 30.
The bypoll is being held in Umarkote of Nabarangpur
district after suspected Maoists gunned down sitting MLA
Jagabandhu Majhi on September 24.
Panic gripped Umarkote assembly segment after Maoists
pasted posters in several places asking people to boycott the
November 30 bypolls. They warned the ruling BJD candidate
that they would face dire consequences if they contested the
bypoll.
There are only three candidates in the fray. Congress
and BJP have also fielded one candidate each for the seat.
"The police have been asked to provide adequate
security to all the three candidates for the bypoll,"
chief secretary BK Patnaik said.
The police were also watching the development in
Umarkote and Raighar area of Nabarangpur district, he said.
Besides cautioning the ruling party candidate, the
maoists posters made serious allegation against the slain BJD
MLA Jagabandhu Majhi.
The posters written in Hindi and Odia languages
accused the ex-MLA Majhi of being responsible for the murder
of a mother-daughter duo.
They (Maoists) held the state government responsible
for increasing incidents of crime in Nabarangpur areas,
allegedly by the activists of the ruling BJD.
PTI
