<p> A local court in East Midnapore district permitted Chhatradhar to contest the Assembly elections from Jhargram, subject to clearance by the Election Commission.<br /><br />Mahato, who is presently lodged in Midnapore central jail and the convenor of PCAPA, allegedly a front organisation of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), sought the judicial nod to contest polls from Jhargram. Chhatradhar's move has a much wider ramification, coming as it does closely after the election boycott call given by Maoists. The boycott call has taken the political parties by surprise as even a month back, the banned outfit indicated just the opposite, sending signals that it would want people to participate in the poll process to ‘restore the voice of democracy.’ <br /><br /> According to observers, Mahato’s move smacks of more than a single strategy; it could be his game to execute pressure on Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to press for withdrawal of central forces from the rebel-infested areas, a demand that she herself has been making for sometime now. On the other, Chhatradhar's decision could be interpreted as a general rebuff to the CPI(M) allegation of a Trinamool-Maoist nexus.<br /></p>
<p> A local court in East Midnapore district permitted Chhatradhar to contest the Assembly elections from Jhargram, subject to clearance by the Election Commission.<br /><br />Mahato, who is presently lodged in Midnapore central jail and the convenor of PCAPA, allegedly a front organisation of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), sought the judicial nod to contest polls from Jhargram. Chhatradhar's move has a much wider ramification, coming as it does closely after the election boycott call given by Maoists. The boycott call has taken the political parties by surprise as even a month back, the banned outfit indicated just the opposite, sending signals that it would want people to participate in the poll process to ‘restore the voice of democracy.’ <br /><br /> According to observers, Mahato’s move smacks of more than a single strategy; it could be his game to execute pressure on Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to press for withdrawal of central forces from the rebel-infested areas, a demand that she herself has been making for sometime now. On the other, Chhatradhar's decision could be interpreted as a general rebuff to the CPI(M) allegation of a Trinamool-Maoist nexus.<br /></p>
