Naidu's last hope to break into naxal heartland

HYDERABAD: Naxals have gone flat out to queer Chandrababu Naidu''s pitch. TDP workers now have a tough task reaching remote parts.
A series of threats has forced TDP men in several constituencies to take cover. Many have quit the party and don''t dare venture into the heartlands dominated by the People''s War (PW) squads.
Naidu is trying to solve the problem.He has ensured a massive deployment of forces across the state and - at least in some pockets - banked on surrendered naxals to breathe life into his flagging campaign.
He has fielded "reformed naxals" in a couple of constituencies. One of them is Dhanasri Anasuya, aka Seetakka. A firebrand squad commander till she quit in 1998, she says that through the elections she''d continue her battle for justice.
Born in Jagannapet village of Mulug Mandal,Warangal, she went into the forests in 1988, aged 17. Now, with a TDP ticket from the Mulug assembly seat in her hands, she says she''ll win the contest hands down. Vavilala Suneetha is another naxal-turned-TDP torchbearer.
She''s contesting from Alampur, Mahabubnagar. Her previous attempt as nominee of Bahujan Republican Party, failed.
Seetakka is a lawyer who asserts her faith in parliamentary democracy and doesn''t sound worried about her previous association with the PW.
Married and with a child, she could foil the terror squad''s scare peddlers and spur TDP cadre to action. Ditto for Suneetha.
Both Mahabubnagar and Warangal have a serious naxal problem. The security machinery has so far been caught flatfooted, with action squads striking at will.
Some weeks ago, they gunned down the husband of tribal welfare minister, Mani Kumari. An unlikely target, he was shot dead at Paderu, Visakhapatnam.
TDP wants to signal that government bears no personal grudge against PW activists and wants a peaceful way out of the problem. "It''s important for naxals to see that surrender brings benefits. Seetakka and Suneetha are examples," says a TDP functionary. The government has spent crores to rehabilitate ''reformed'' naxals.
Government is beefing up paramilitary and flying in choppers from Delhi. Can these moves backfire? Naidu has lined up trips to the naxal heartland.
While his security forces target naxals, he has tried to seize the high moral ground by harping on the need for talks and a farewell to arms.
He''s been met with no response from PW, which distrusts the regime: there are far too many claims of fake encounters and rights violations. The TDP is hoping against hope that people like Seetakka and Suneetha will see the campaign through.