Two jailed Maoists to contest polls

June 22nd, 2009 KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Monday accused West Bengal's ruling Left Front of being in cahoots with the Maoists saying the Communists had used the rebels to win the polls in the western districts. "The Left used Maoists to rig the elections and now they are saying Maoists helped the Trinamool.

June 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - A convoy of 20 media vehicles, presspersons on board, came in for a shock on Saturday evening when a group of Maoists surrounded them and took them away from the State Highway into Maoists infested villages, according to reports received here. The armed Maoists did not allow the mediapersons to operate their cameras and asked them to abide by directions on route.

April 27th, 2009 RAIPUR - Re-polling was underway Monday in 25 booths in three Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh where Maoists had disrupted the electoral process Thursday. Polling began at 7 a.m.

April 22nd, 2009 PATNA - Suspected Maoists killed a truck driver and set ablaze nine trucks in Bihar's Gaya district and bombed a block office in Aurangabad district early Wednesday, a day ahead of the second phase of Lok Sabha polls, police said. Over 100 armed Maoists attacked trucks on the busy Grand Trunk Road near Barachatti in Gaya, about 100 km from here, at around 12.30 am.

April 14th, 2009 PATNA - Suspected Maoists set on fire the election campaign vehicle of Mahabali Singh, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) candidate from Bihar's Karakat constituency, early Tuesday, police said. The vehicle was burnt in Aurangabad district, about 150 km from here, on the last day of the campaign for the seat.

April 1st, 2009 PATNA - A day after he said he was fit to contest the polls, veteran socialist leader George Fernandes Wednesday fell ill just hours before he was to file his nomination papers from a Bihar constituency. Fernandes, whose Janata Dal-United (JD-U) denied him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Tuesday termed as 'lies' the rumours that he was unwell.

March 31st, 2009 PATNA - Veteran socialist leader George Fernandes, whose Janata Dal-United (JD-U) denied him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Tuesday said he would contest the elections on the nomination of a party and not as an Independent candidate in Bihar. He, however, refused to name the party that would give him the ticket for contesting from the Muzaffarpur constituency.

March 26th, 2009 MUZAFFARPUR - Senior Janata Dal- United (JDU) leader and former Union Minister George Fernandes has announced that he will contest the 2009 elections from the Muzaffarpur parliamentary constituency as an independent. He announced his decision to contest after consulting with party supporters here.

March 25th, 2009 PATNA - Veteran socialist leader George Fernandes, whose Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has denied him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Wednesday announced he was ready to run from his Muzaffarpur constituency and would formally announce this Thursday after holding discussions with his friends and supporters. 'Main taiyyar hun, main hun taiyyar (I am ready to contest)' Fernandes repeatedly said in chaste Hindi at a press conference he addressed in Muzaffarpur, about 70 km from here.

March 25th, 2009 PATNA - Former Bihar agriculture minister Nagmani, who had resigned from the government after ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) denied him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Wednesday joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Nagmani will now contest from Chatra Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand as an RJD candidate.

March 25th, 2009 KOLKATA - Police will carry out a combing operation to sniff out Maoist rebels from the tribal-dominated Lalgarh region of West Bengal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, an official said Wednesday. 'We will be sending police forces to Lalgarh before the April-May elections to search out Maoists guerrillas in the region so that polls can be conducted in the district peacefully,' West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters here.

March 24th, 2009 RAIPUR - The police Monday recovered the bodies of four tribals allegedly kidnapped by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, officials said. 'The rebels had abducted four men, all aged around 30, late Sunday from Tarlaguda village.

March 23rd, 2009 PATNA - A Bihar minister resigned from the Nitish Kumar government Sunday after the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) denied him the ticket to contest the Lok Sabha poll, an official said. Agriculture Minister Nagmani resigned after the JD-U did not include his name in the list of 25 candidates announced to contest the parliamentary polls.

March 17th, 2009 LATEHAR/CHATRA - Maoists in Jharkhand call for boycott of the general elections, which is scheduled to be held next month. In Latehar and Chatra district of Jharkhand, the Maoists have painted the walls with writings, threatening villagers from casting votes and with dire consequences if they take part in the polls.

March 4th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - The Gujarat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received a total of 600 applications from party workers expressing their desire to contest the polls from 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state, a party official said Tuesday. 'The poll observers appointed by the party to look for suitable candidates today (Tuesday) submitted the names of the party workers who are keen to contest the polls after meeting a total of 8,000 workers across the state,' BJP state general secretary Vijay Rupani told reporters here.