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Malkangiri to defy the perpetual Left Wing Extremist threats this Lok Sabha Polls  

Odisha: Malkangiri district set to disappoint the Naxals with higher voter turn-out – OLD NEWS FROM MAY 2024

Malkangiri to defy the perpetual Left Wing Extremist threats this Lok Sabha Polls  

A higher than ever number of voters in Odisha’s Malkangiri are expected to line up the queues as the Nabrangpur Lok Sabha seat goes to polls on May 13, 2024.

The Malkangiri in Odisha has been a victim of the Naxal Terrorism where the people have traditionally been threatened not to cast their votes during the elections.

The never-ending attempts from the Left Wing Extremism to weaken the democracy were answered by a gradually increasing number of people turning out to vote, particularly since 1999 with Lok Sabha Elections from 2009 being an exception.

The Nabrangpur Lok Sabha Constituency, home to the Malkangiri District, witnessed a voting percentage of 79.51% in the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019.

The voter turn out stood at 78.8% in the Lok Sabha Elections of 2014.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, 65.15% voters turned out to vote in the Nabrangpur constituency infamous for being a Naxal Belt.

67.14% voters lined up in queues to exercise their vote in 2004 Lok Sabha Elections in the Nabrangpur District.

62.35% was reported as the voting percentage during the Lok Sabha Elections of 1999 from the same Nabrangpur District.

The numbers regarding the voter turn-out from the Nabrangpur Lok Sabha Seat’s, Malkangiri show that the voter turn out has been gradually rising since the Lok Sabha Elections from 1999, where 2009 Lok Sabha Elections proved to be an aberration.

The percentage of electorate that exercised their Adult Franchise from the Nabrangpur Constituency shows that despite the Naxal Threat, people line up to vote wherein most of the times a BJP Government has been in power.

The Malkangiri Superintendent of Police, Nitesh Wadhwani, asserted that the district is ready to vote in large numbers and expressed confidence in the security situation provided by the Local Police.

“With the cooperation of locals, the region, which was a hotbed of Naxal activity in the previous years, is now incident-free. Since 2018, several development projects have been implemented in the region to boost public infrastructure, especially roads, and build schools, apart from steps to boost security. We can assure that 18-20 off-steam operations will be carried out a day before the elections here. While the Naxal threat hasn’t entirely gone away, the security situation is getting better with every passing day,” he said.

The BSF presence in the state adds more firepower to the security apparatus guarding the populace in the Naxal Affected State of Odisha.   

The Lok Sabha Elections take place in Odisha in 4 phases starting from May 13 and extends till June 1, 2024.