A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
A controversy erupted on Tuesday after the opposition parties tagged a video of DMK leader A Raja purportedly showing him making remarks that India has never been a nation, but a subcontinent with diverse practices and cultures, prompting strong response from the BJP which described the comments as a call for 'balkanisation' of the the country and demanded for his arrest.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday expressed apprehension about Maoists' design behind the agitation launched by the landless or illegal settlers on government land under the banner of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity, whose leader Akhil Gogoi has already been arrested and in judicial custody now.
Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed Maoist leader Kishenji's ceasefire offer on Wednesday and said all problems should be solved by diplomatic process.
Twelve Maoists including hardcore rebel leader Sriramalu Srinivasalu were on Tuesday released on bail as talks for safe return of abducted Malkangiri district collector and an engineer appeared to reach a decisive stage after another top Naxal Ganti Prasadam joined the negotiation process.
Former Nepalese foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey observed that the current situation is not encouraging for India-Nepal ties, saying the "present leaders" created irritants in the relationship in the past.
The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) at a meeting held Monday night agreed in principle to form a coalition government under the leadership of former rebels, NC spokesman Arjun Narsingh Khatri Chhetri said.
The Andhra Pradesh police ruled out the possibility of a judicial inquiry into the alleged fake encounter of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad on Sunday, but assured of an probe by the department into the incident.
Top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy on Friday moved a Delhi court, expressing his willingness to withdraw the 'forcible confession' made before the police, following his arrest in New Delhi in September.Ghandy, a central committee member of the Communist Party of India - Maoist, was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, who sent him to judicial custody till December 25.Ghandy, 63, was brought to New Delhi from Andhra Pradesh.
There are two possible scenarios -- these fears turn out to be baseless and Prachanda turns out to be a genuine democrat and a genuine friend of India or Prachanda after the elections turns out to be different from Prachanda before the elections and takes Nepal on a road, which would be detrimental to our national interests. While hoping for the first scenario, we must be prepared for the second.
After a meeting with Buddhadeb, Indrani -- the wife of officer-in-charge of Sankrail police station, Atindranath Dutta -- said they had conveyed to the chief minister Maoist leader Kishenji's demand that the women arrested by joint forces in West Midnapore district be released immediately.
Top Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy, accused of trying to set up a base for his banned outfit Communist Party of India-Maoist in New Delhi, was absolved on Wednesday of stringent charges under the anti-terror law by a Delhi court, which put him on trial for alleged offences of impersonation, cheating and forgery.
The Communists would support the Opposition groups ``as much as possible,'' rebel leader Prachanda said in a statement sent to news organisations. It was not clear if he was offering armed support.
Rail and road services were disrupted in some parts of Orissa as a two-day Bharat Bandh called by the Maoists in protest against the death of a top Naxal leader began on Wednesday.
The Andhra Pradesh police claimed to have foiled an attempt of a Maoist team from Karnataka to target political leaders and senior police officers in the state, by arresting one of its members on Sunday.
Accusing Maoist leader Kishenji of failing to address the grievances of the tribals, his long term aide Gurucharan Kisku has formed his own squad. Kisku alleged that Kishenji is an 'outsider' who did not understand tribal sentiments. "Tribals have distinct customs, religion and language and the party is destroying the tribal way of life in Jungle Mahal and other areas," said Kisku alias Marshal, who has been a squad member of the Maoist Communist Centre since 1988.
In an audio message to the media, a leader of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of CPI (Maoist) said the final verdict of the praja court on the fate of Laxmipur MLA would be communicated by April 25.
Following a court directive, top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy was interrogated this evening in the presence of his lawyer at the special cell police station in New Delhi.
'India is my country and we will raise our voice against anybody who harms the interests of Adivasis, be it the state government or the Maoists.'
The peace talks between the government and the Maoists, which were postponed about a month ago, will resume in Kathmandu on Monday.
The Centre rubbished the claims of a Maoist leader to overthrow the Indian state before 2050 saying they are free to "dream" and asserted that talks can happen only when they abjure violence.
The ruling Congress, voted to office in 2018 after 15 years in opposition, and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the main contenders for power in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and some regional outfits are also in the fray.
A close aide of top Maoist leader Kishenji and main accused in the Jharkhand MP Sunil Mahato murder case was arrested from a forest in Salboni in West Midnapore district on Friday.
Released by Maoists after three days in captivity, police officer Atindranath Dutta hopes the West Bengal government would take steps to trace two police personnel, who were abducted by the ultras on July 30 and are still missing.
Maoist leader Kishenji on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was backtracking from his earlier plan to engage air force and army against the Naxals on the excuse of assembly elections and negative vibes from intellectuals.
The rebel chief, whose real name of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, claimed that the visit succeeded in overcoming the confusion about the Maoists and the motive of the insurgency, the party waged in 1996.
Top Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao had suffered a bullet injury in his left leg but is now out of danger, a person claiming to be have treated him said.
RSS leader Dhanu Pradhan, who was said to be on the Maoists' hitlist, was gunned down by three suspected extremists at Kumarigaon village under Brahmanigaon police station area in Kandhamal at around 1300 hrs, sources said.
The revolutionary writers association leader and poet Varavara Rao has demanded the Central Bureau of Investigation to enlarge the ambit of its investigations into the fake encounter of prominent Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alis Azad and freelance journalist Hemchandr Pandey.
Nirmal Mahato, the CPM branch committee secretary of Amdanga, was shot dead by Maoists, who claimed he was killed for exploiting poor villagers, police said. The Maoists then blocked the Amdanga-Lalgarh road felling boulders preventing security forces from raiding the area.
Prachanda also insisted that elections to the Constituent Assembly in Nepal be held in November or December, failing which his party would walk out of the government and launch a peaceful agitation.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has slammed Home Minister P Chidambaram's strong-arm tactics to counter the Maoists, saying development is the key to resolving the problem, which should not be treated as a law and order issue.
With the curtains drawn on the Italian hostage crisis, a somewhat relieved Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday flew to Maoist-infested Koraput where 37-year-old tribal MLA Jhina Hikaka was being held captive by a separate Maoist group since March 24.
"The Maoists have communicated to me through a channel that they are ready to consider the government's offer of talks provided the Centre or the Andhra Pradesh government orders a judicial enquiry into the encounter," Agnivesh told PTI over phone.
The deadly Maoist ambush, claiming the lives of 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, was planned and supervised by local Naxal leaders who were reportedly camping in south Bastar for past few days, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Andhra Pradesh high court order granting bail to alleged Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy in a 2005 case of murder of nine persons, including a senior Congress leader.
Tamang Swayatta Krantikari Janaparishad, a Maoist-affiliated organisation, has also banned plying vehicles with Indian number plates in several districts in central Nepal.
'By hoisting the national flag we have kindled a small flame of hope among the Adivasis.' 'We will strive to keep this flame burning forever among their hearts.'
The exercise will continue till 6 pm in all the polling stations except those in Maoist-affected areas of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts where it ended at 3 pm, an official said.
