New Delhi, Oct. 21 -- Even as the Myanmar Army deploys drones and artillery to defend its last two strongholds of Sitwe and Kyauk Phyu in the breakaway Arakan province, it is moving ahead with plans to hold elections in the country this winter, a gesture as surreal as it is strategic.

The attempt to conduct elections as Myanmar's generals wield guns to stifle a winter of discontent may seem paradoxical - but then the illusion of democracy has always been an attractive cloak which juntas around the world had sought to craft in their bid to gain legitimacy.

The army, which calls itself the Tatmadaw, controls roughly half the nation's landmass. The other half is a patchwork of rebel fiefs, warlord-run territories, and gray zones where powe...