In the backdrop of an ongoing Lok Sabha campaign in Kanker constituency, that votes on April 26, the deadliest anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s history was carried out in the fringes of the district, with as many as 29 Naxalites killed on April 16.
While this has triggered a political war between the main players, with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the Congress party of supporting Naxals, it is yet to become a talking point on the ground. Two days after the operation in Chhotebethiya area on the fringes of the Kanker district, the candidates are not too vocal about it in their campaign speeches.
Residents like Baliram Usendi, 54, a school teacher based in Antagarh, also suggest that the recent anti-Naxal operation may have emerged as a larger theme, but locally it is less likely to dominate the polls as Naxal violence has been a long-standing issue.
