KOCHI: Let alone the Congress workers, the Kerala Police are also waiting with bated breath whether indeed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will agree to the state Congress’ plea to contest from the Wayanad LS seat. For police department, his candidature from Wayanad will throw up a major security challenge as Wayanad has been facing a security crisis following increased activities of Maoists in the last few months.
Police have analysed the security scenario in Wayand as ‘highly volatile’ after the encounter death of Maoist leader CP Jaleel on March 7.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera said, “The police have the capacity to handle the situation and will strengthen security measures in Wayanad if required. Already, a tight policing scheme is being devised for Wayanad to ensure a peaceful election,” he said.
The intelligence wing has devised special operations for intelligence gathering in Wayanad to counter Maoist activities. “Senior officers in Wayanad have been directed to closely follow a set of guidelines to keep a check on sensitive areas in Wayanad. We have already identified sensitive polling booths in the district where special units will be deployed in advance to prevent untoward incidents,” said a senior police officer.
As per police assessment, if Rahul Gandhi decides to contest from Wayanad, he will be visiting the constituency at least thrice for public campaigns and the police need to ensure total security cover for the VVIP candidate on the occasion. “There is already a call by the Maoists to the general public to boycott the election. Wayanad will become the centre of attraction once Rahul decides to contest and there is a possibility of Maoists disrupting the election process to attract attention,” said an officer. Maoist posters, vowing to avenge the encounter death of Jaleel, appeared at Makkimala in the early hours on Monday.