First Batch of Troops Sent to Naxal-Hit Chhattisgarh as Centre Begins Pre-Poll Preps; J&K, Punjab on List

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is actively mobilising resources and focusing on deploying troops in sensitive areas for pre-election duties in preparation for the upcoming general elections.

Following a recent meeting, a decision was made to dispatch troops to hyper-sensitive areas, particularly those affected by Naxal activities, a senior government official said. The MHA has allocated 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces for this purpose to Chhattisgarh as the first movement regarding upcoming elections, with a directive that these units maintain full operational strength and carry necessary equipment such as ops-scale arms, bullet-proof jackets, and helmets.

The deployment is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, with troops stationed in Naxal-affected regions until the conclusion of the general elections. Their responsibilities include area domination, sanitisation, and engagement with local communities to familiarise themselves with the terrain. The MHA has instructed the local state governments to facilitate accommodation, transportation, and logistics for the deployed forces.

As part of the strategic plan, troop movements will also be initiated in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, and other regions in coming days to ensure effective area domination and sanitisation in anticipation of the elections. The primary objective is to conduct violence-free elections in challenging states and UTs like J&K, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Punjab, where central forces face the dual task of maintaining law and order while providing security.

J&K would be a big task for the forces as this would be the first elections after abrogation of Article 370. The UT has not seen any state election so far after the government’s big move of scrapping Article 370.

Similarly, West Bengal would be another challenge due to the continuous violence and attacks on political leaders of different parties. It is expected that this time too the state may see violence during election season, especially in remote areas.