In India, even the poorest have shown confidence in the electoral process. Bastar in Chhattisgarh is a striking example. It is inhabited by people sunk in poverty and is also a Maoist stronghold. Even then there was a heavy turnout of voters in the recent Assembly polls-about 70 %. The voters totally defied Maoist threats to their lives and thought that the elections would bring about a healthy change in their lives. No doubt, politicians did their bit to lure a lot of them to the polling booths. Sometimes, coercion was used. But it was for a good cause for the voters set their face against the Maoist ban on the elections. The Election Commission had done a good job creating right conditions for voting. It needed courage for the voters to choose the democratic path. Whether politicians who participated in the elections live up to their promise to the voters remains to be seen.
Of course, the danger lurking in different parts of Bastar persists after the elections. The Maoists will continue to be on the rampage. They killed two members of the Border Security Force (BSF) and a civilian in an ambush a day after the voting. Admittedly, no votes were recorded in a few polling stations which were in the heartland of Maoist violence. Yet, so many people exercised their franchise. It will be up to the new government to snuff out the Maoist menace. The rebels want to destroy democracy and organize an armed insurrection. That purpose has to be defeated. It may sound a platitude. But the solution does lie in ending the poverty of the people in Maoist strongholds. The politicians should not forget their pledge to the people and not roil political waters as Narendra Modi has done.
