Gadchiroli tales: When MLA was abducted during election campaign

In the 1990 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Atram secured a seat as an MLA on a Congress ticket.

Baba Dharmarao Atram is the NCP candidate from the Aheri seat in Gadchiroli district. This time, his contest is especially compelling, as his rival is none other than his own daughter, Bhagyashree Atram, who has been granted the ticket by Sharad Pawar’s NCP. There is another intriguing story about Atram which caused a stir across the nation in 1991.

In the 1990 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Atram secured a seat as an MLA on a Congress ticket. The following year, during the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, Baba Atram was campaigning alongside Congress candidate Shantaram Potdukhe, canvassing village by village. One day, they arrived in a village called Medpalli near Allapalli, coinciding with a local wedding celebration. As Baba Atram was engaged in conversation with villagers at the local school, roughly half a dozen Maoists appeared out of nowhere. They leveled their rifles at him, demanding he accompany them. The villagers formed a protective ring around Atram, striving to prevent his abduction, but to avert a potential bloodbath, Baba asked them to stand down.

News of the MLA’s abduction spread like wildfire, sparking a nationwide uproar. The Congress-led state government found itself in a tight spot. Rajiv Gandhi personally phoned Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, urging that Atram be rescued at any cost. Pawar, on his toes, stayed in close touch with Gadchiroli’s Superintendent of Police, K.P. Raghuvanshi, who led the relentless search. Helicopters and tracking dogs were deployed, leaving no stone unturned.

The Maoists put forth their demand to the government: they would only release Atram in exchange for their imprisoned comrade Shivanna, a hardened Maoist responsible for multiple murders of police officers and villagers, apprehended after a grueling pursuit.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Andhra Pradesh, Maoists escalated tensions by assassinating a Congress MLA within his home. Nearly two weeks dragged by, yet the police efforts to locate Atram proved futile. Finally, the government resolved to relent. Negotiations commenced, with a lawyer acting as a mediator. Bail was arranged for Shivanna across all his charges, and he was released from Chandrapur Jail, vanishing into the dense jungle alongside his lawyer. Hours later, the Maoists kept their word and freed Baba Atram.

Superintendent of Police Raghuvanshi was profoundly disappointed with Shivanna's release, expressing that the police had been on the brink of closing in on the Maoists when the government made its decision. Incidentally, Shivanna resurfaced years later, only to be caught in a police encounter. Baba Atram’s daughter, Bhagyashree Atram, mentions that she chose to contest with Sharad Pawar’s party because it was Pawar who had played a pivotal role in securing her father’s life.