Maoist rebels have shot and killed two men in southern India, hours before the second phase of polling began in a state election, police said on Friday. The Maoists, who say they are fighting IndiaÂ’s government on behalf of the landless poor, have called for a boycott of the election in Karnataka state, home to the outsourcing capital of Bangalore. Few voters are paying any heed, police say. One of the victims was a teacher suspected by the Maoists of being a police informer, police said. He was shot on Thursday night as he returned home on a motorbike in a village about 380 km from Bangalore.
The results of the Karnataka elections will be seen as an indicator of the fortunes of the Congress party, which leads IndiaÂ’s coalition government, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition, in forthcoming general elections. Voting in Karnataka which began with the first phase on May 10 has been staggered to allow security forces to be deployed across the state to ensure a fair election. Maoist rebels operate in a large swathe of India stretching from the east to some southern states, mostly in the countryside, and attack government officials and property.