In a fierce encounter in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, 27 rebels of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) were neutralised, on May 21, 2025. The most important among them was Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju a native of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. He became General Secretary of the Maoists after Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy stepped down due to old age. Basavaraju was 70 years old. He completed his schooling and Intermediate education in Tekkali, Srikakulam district. The Srikakulam armed peasant uprising of 1967 ran parallel to the Naxal tribal-peasant uprising of 1967.

Kesava Rao joined Regional Engineering College (now known as National Institute of Technology), Warangal, and completed B Tech, but discontinued studies while pursuing M Tech. He was attracted to Naxal ideology while as a student and began his journey in the Naxal movement through the Radical Students Union like many others, such as Patel Sudhakar Reddy (native of Narayanpur district, Telangana) and Mallojula Venugopal and his brother Mallojula Koteswara Rao, both natives of Peddapalli district, Telangana.

Before being elected as General Secretary, Nambala was heading the Central Military Commission. He planned the Jiramghati massacre, Chhattisgarh, June 2013 in which the entire top leadership of the Congress party was wiped out, including Legislator Mahendra Karma, founder of Salwa Judum. It was disbanded after a Supreme Court order. Some of its members are part of the District Reserve Guard now. Vidya Charan Shukla, former Chief Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh and former Union Cabinet Minister who was shot at during the Maoist’s ambush had succumbed to his injuries later. Nambla also planned the failed assassination attempt on Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, in October 2003.

Since the past two years the rebels have been suffering severe body blows. Bastar region, Chhattisgarh, especially Narayanpur, Sukma and Kanker, all part of the impregnable Abuj Maad (unknown hills), are also part of Dandakaranya. It is the fiercest battle zone. Dandakaranya spreads across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. It consists of approximately 4,000 km. Most of the top Maoist leadership is residing there. Way back in 2001, Kondapalli Seetaramaiah identified it as the General Force Headquarters of the Maoists.

In 2024, the Maoists had lost 287 cadres in fierce gun battles with security forces, including 14 top leaders, while 1,000 cadres, including militia members were arrested. On the other, 800 had surrendered. Elsewhere in Jharkhand, Prayag Manjhi a Central Committee Member has been neutralised. At least 230 Maoist rebels have been killed in 2025, while at least 200 have surrendered. In the past 20 years at least 5,000 Maoists have been killed.

The Maoist Central Committee presently consists of 15 members. Prashant Bose alias Kishanda is a product of the Naxalbari uprising. But he is old. Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram and Misir Besra alias Sunirmal are prominent among them. The former was arrested in Ernakulam, Kerala, but was set free in an abduction swap exercise 2013 (Vineel Krishna Malkangiri District Collector and Pabitra Majhi, a Junior Engineer). The other two are Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu and Katta Ramachandra Reddy alias Kosa and Tippidi Tirupati alias Devji. One of them would likely lead the Maoist movement. Another important leader is Krishna alias Hidma, who is an expert military strategist.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced repeatedly that the Maoists would be wiped out by March 31, 2026. The Maoists have called for a peace dialogue albeit with some conditions. The Union government has expressed willingness to consider the offer but insisted on unconditional surrender of arms. In the current scenario the Maoists are expected to fight with renewed vigour. However, except in tribal inhabited Bastar and the forests of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha they would not be able to recruit cadres. For the Maoists, it is always one step forward and four steps backward.

Apparently, money and weapons do not seem to be a problem for the Maoists. Their challenge is recruiting cadres. They can extort vast amounts from contractors and anyone who has ill-gotten wealth and can pay-up. An earlier study by this researcher estimated that they had at least Rs 240-260 cr in their hands. They can loot weapons from the security forces and loot weapons. They had done that in Nayargarh police training centre, Koraput armoury raid, Raigarh police station raid, Giridih Home Guards Training Centre raid, Ranibodli explosives centre raid, Damanjodi explosives raid and in bloody ambushes such as Chintalnar and many other police stations.

Everyone thought that after Amulya Sen and Kanai Chatterjee of Dakshin Desh, the precursor to the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC); Charu Majumdar and Jangal Santhal were neutralised, the Naxalite Movement was written-off. But, some years later, Prashant Bose and others in North and Kondapalli Seetaramaiah in South engaged the security forces in bloody gun battles.

Through area-wise seizure of power they occupied large tracts in Bengal – West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia; Gaya, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Saraikela, East Singhbum – Jharkahnd. Sundargarh, Chandauli and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh; Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Satna Bhandara, in Maharashtra; Balaghat, etc in Madhya Pradesh; Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Prakasam, East Godavari, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam – Andhra Pradesh. Koraput, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Gajapati and Ganjam -- Odisha. Their area of control included entire Bastar region which now comprises seven districts in Chhattisgarh.

Between 1998 and 2004, they lost ground in North Telangana and Andhra-Odisha border. Thereafter the Maoists retreated into Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. In 2004, the Maoist Communist Centre of India and the Communist Part of India—Marxist-Leninist merged realising strength lies in unity. But they gradually lost ground and several important leaders, including Kondappali Seetaramaiah and Jinugu Narasimha Reddy and Lanka Papi Reddy surrendered either due to old age or realising the futility of armed struggle. Seetaramaiah was expelled by Ganapathy in a power struggle in 1992 and he later surrendered. The latter two surrendered after realising that power does not flow through the barrel of the gun. However, they are committed to attaining power through democratic means.

The Maoists are now located largely in Bastar. Their cadres have been decimated and the eradication campaign by the government forces is continuing. The various State governments have put in place a persuasive surrender and rehabilitation policy and have initiated various development projects. Further, a thoughtful skill development programme has been initiated across the country to wean away the youth from taking to crime or joining Naxalite-terrorist groups. However, these have hardly reached the needy youth.

In spite of all these good initiatives, the hardcore among the Maoists are unlikely to be deterred. The whole process is likely to be repeated again. They will fall and rise like the phoenix. It might take some time. It is hard to predict how many years it would take.

Across the world, wherever the founders of armed seizure of power succeeded, they captured power – Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in the then USSR, Fidel Castro in Cuba, Mao Tse-Tung in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Prince-turned-Communist Souphanouvong in Loa People’s Democratic Republic. The others, Charu Majumdar, Chairman Abimael Guzman alias Gonzalo in Peru (Shining Path) and Ibrahim Kaypakkaya (Turkish Communist Party- Marxist-Leninist), Rohana Wijeweera of Communist Party of Ceylon (Maoist) died in police custody or were killed in battle. Jose Maria Sison of The Philippines Communist Party, died in self-exile in Belgium where the Worker’s Party of Belgium is a fraternal party, but participates in democratic processes.

Even as the Maoists are committed to armed seizure, it is better to give the Maoists a chance and help them join the mainstream and allow then to contest democratic, parliamentary elections. The Nepalese Maoists and the Janata Vimukti Peramuna of Sri Lanka stand out as living examples in this regard.

(The paper is the author’s individual scholastic articulation. The author certifies that the article/paper is original in content, unpublished and it has not been submitted for publication/web upload elsewhere, and that the facts and figures quoted are duly referenced, as needed, and are believed to be correct). (The paper does not necessarily represent the organisational stance... More >>