The Border Security Force (BSF), a premier Border Guarding Force operating under the umbrella of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), is ready to discharge its role during the upcoming general elections in Odisha.
BSF DIG, Dhirendra Kumar on Monday said, “BSF has its own strategy and it had successfully ensured smooth elections in 2019 and also the 2022 panchayat election in Swabhiman Anchal after two decades. The 2024 elections will also be successful and there is nothing to worry about as all strategies are in place and we will ensure an incident-free election.”
With the motto "Jeevan Paryant Kartavya", the strategic deployment of BSF in Odisha commenced. In October 2010, BSF was deployed in Malkangiri, Koraput, and Nabarangpur and all these areas are now naxal-free to a larger extent.
According to Kumar, Koraput is completely free from left-wing extremism and the position is being consolidated and ultras are being wiped out from the Swabhiman region in Malkangiri.
“The security forces now have the upper hand and the naxals’ combat capabilities have dropped. Naxalism in Odisha is counting its last days and the state will be free from left-wing extremism in the next one or two years,” said Kumar.
The senior BSF official said that at present the naxal concentration is restricted to one or two districts. Most of the rebels have migrated to Andhra Pradesh or Chhattisgarh.
“Now, our focus is on Naxal-affected areas in Kandhamal, Boudh and Kalahandi districts. Maoists are now confined to only two-three districts of Odisha. The Chhattisgarh dynamics and operational scenario is completely different than Odisha. BSF deployment in Odisha is more in areas sharing borders with neighbouring states. There is no security vacuum and it has been plugged till Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. It is hard for rebels to enter into Odisha,” he added.