Ahead of Phase 2 voting, THIS village becomes naxal free, villagers to vote after 30 years, say, ‘people are coming back…’

Jamui Assembly constituency becomes naxal free

In a major step towards eliminating Naxalism, for the first time in over 25 years, residents of Chormara village in Bihar’s Jamui district will now be able to vote peacefully after their village was declared free from Naxal influence. Voters in Chormara will now cast their votes at Polling Station No. 220 set up at Chormara Primary School.

Earlier, due to security concerns, voters had to travel nearly 22 kilometers to Koywa School under Barhat block to exercise their rights. The new polling station in the village has caused excitement among residents who say the change has cut travel time by more than 20 kilometres.

Locals have expressed hope that the end of Naxal rule will bring long-awaited development to the region, including electricity, better roads and improved connectivity.

Resident Sitaram Kora expressed his happiness at being able to vote again after 25 years. Kora told ANI, “The area was completely under the control of the Naxalites. Earlier, the situation was really bad. People were being taken away by force; they were coming at nights. Even children were being taken away and taken to join the organisation. Now people are also coming back; elections will also be held after 30 years. We are very happy that this is happening.”

In a major step towards eliminating Naxalism, for the first time in over 25 years, residents of Chormara village in Bihar’s Jamui district will now be able to vote peacefully after their village was declared free from Naxal influence.

Voters in Chormara will now cast their votes at Polling Station No. 220 set up at Chormara Primary School.

Earlier, due to security concerns, voters had to travel nearly 22 kilometers to Koywa School under Barhat block to exercise their rights. The new polling station in the village has caused excitement among residents who say the change has cut travel time by more than 20 kilometres.

Locals have expressed hope that the end of Naxal rule will bring long-awaited development to the region, including electricity, better roads and improved connectivity. Resident Sitaram Kora expressed his happiness at being able to vote again after 25 years. “The area was completely under the control of the Naxalites. Earlier, the situation was really bad. People were being taken away by force; they were coming at nights. Even children were being taken away to join the organisation. Now people are also coming back; elections will also be held after 30 years. We are very happy that this has happened,” Kora told ANI.

There are many other areas around Chormara village, including Gurmaha, Jamunia, Bichlatola and Hanumanthan, which were engulfed by Naxalism and are now liberating from its grasp.

The Jamui Assembly constituency, which falls under the Jamui Lok Sabha seat, will go to polls in the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on November 11. According to the Election Commission of India, there are 523 women voters in the village, including 488 men.

According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are a total of 38 districts affected by Left Extremism (LWE) in the country in 2024, and over 60 districts have been freed from LWE in the last 5 years. There has been significant improvement in the security situation of districts of Bihar like Arwal, Aurangabad, Banka, East Champaran, Gaya, Jehanabad, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Munger, Muzaffarpur and others.

Currently, Jamui will see a three-way contest between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Shreyasi Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Mohammad Shamsad Alam and Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anil Prasad Sah.

Both RJD and Jan Suraaj Party are eyeing a defeat against incumbent BJP MLA Shreyasi Singh.