Vanishing footprint of Maoism: ‘We should’ve negotiated in late 2000s’

Vanishing footprint of Maoism: ‘We should’ve negotiated in late 2000s’

Vanishing footprint of Maoism: ‘We should’ve negotiated in late 2000s’

At an undisclosed location in Bastar district’s Jagdalpur town, five top Naxal leaders who surrendered in late 2025, are listening to Shah.

Updated on: Apr 01, 2026 7:05 AM IST By Prawesh Lama Share via Copy link Jagdalpur: Monday evening. Union home minister Amit Shah is speaking in the Lok Sabha, detailing his government’s success in ridding India of left wing extremism or Naxalism. He speaks for almost 85 minutes, explaining how the state won. (From left) Bhaskar Mandvi, (in purple) Ranita, Ratan Elam, Rupesh and Pawan Anand Reddy. (Photo/Prawesh Lama) At an undisclosed location in Bastar district’s Jagdalpur town, five top Naxal leaders who surrendered in late 2025, are listening to Shah. For decades, they fought the state, but admit that eventually, the state prevailed. naxal maoist affected districts 1 On Tuesday, the five meet with Hindustan Times at a park on the outskirts of Jagdalpur . They speak candidly about the decline of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the steady strengthening of intelligence networks and security forces, the leadership vacuum at the top of the insurgent group, their mistakes, curiosity over their former chief Ganpati, who is still at large, and their ultimate loss of relevance. The tipping point in the state’s fight, according to one, came in 2009. “Until 2009, the government and intelligence agencies knew very little about our party and its military structure. They had no real insight. The Maoists were at full strength,” says Pawan Anand Reddy alias Chaitu (62), a state committee member of the proscribed party. Then, things changed. “It was sometime after 2009-10 that the government began systematically gathering information about us -- our hierarchy, governance model, and internal functioning. The first batches of surrendered cadres who joined the District Reserve Guards (DRG) revealed everything: our training methods, weaknesses, and military formations. Once that happened, the forces gained a clear understanding and prepared themselves for a long fight,” he adds. Those years, according to Chaitu and his fellow comrade Rupesh alias Satish Kofa, also a state zonal committee member, were a phase when the CPI(Maoist) was strongest. “Between 2007 and 2009, we were at our strongest in terms of numbers and outreach. There were around 2,500-3,000 full-time armed cadres in the Dandakaranya region alone, with support from 50,000 to 100,000 cadres across Bastar and adjoining areas. The Salwa Judum movement around 2005 caused us losses, but it also pushed thousands of villagers toward us. Support also poured in from other states where our influence had spread,” Rupesh says, referring to a state-sponsored militia that sought to combat the Maoists. Rupesh, Chaitu, Ranita, Bhaskar alias Yadagir, and Ratan Elam alias Bajirao surrendered in October 2025 along with over 150 cadres. Their immediate senior, Central Committee (CC) member Mallujao Venugopal Rao aka Sonu Dada surrendered in Maharashtra before Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The movement’s decline also had to do with the state’s performance,adds Rupesh. “Our rise in the 1980s and 1990s was tied to the conditions in remote villages at the time. But by the mid-2000s, government schemes began reaching people. Even a 20% improvement in outreach meant we were steadily losing ground and cadres.” And the CPI(Maoist) became an anachronism, says a third former Maoist. “While the government evolved, we remained fixated on building a liberated zone . Instead, we should have expanded into urban areas—among students and labourers. We failed to do that. Over time, our influence shrank from multiple states to just a few, eventually becoming confined to this Dandarkarnya forest among tribal populations,” says Bhaskar, who spent nearly 29 years in the jungle. The warning signs the former Maoists admit, were there, but the Maoist leadership ignored them. They failed to understand the significance of operations such as Green Hunt and Operation Kagaar, massive offensive operations launched against Naxals; and did not react even when security forces started using choppers and drones, and started entering the jungles to take them on. The party should have negotiated from a position of strength in the late 2000s, says Chaithu. “We had the bargaining power then. Our leaders should have come out and done something”. Instead, it was only over the past year, as it became evident that the end was nigh, that Maoist leaders sought a ceasefire, he adds.”But why would the government listen to our demands?They insisted on disarmament first—and we had lost all leverage.” Over the past six months, security forces killed one senior leader after another, literally emptying the banned party’s military and political structure . But the former Maoists are also curious about the location of the former Maoist chief Ganpati alias Muppala Lakshmana Rao. Someof the five claim to have last seen Ganpati at a CC meeting in Abujhmad sometime in 2022. He attended the meeting although he had, by then, handed over the reins of the party to Basavaraju(killed in gunfight last year) in 2018. “Ganpati was there. Sonu dada (Venugopal Rao, who surrendered in Maharashtra on October 14, 2025) and Basavaraju were also there. Everyone could not attend the meeting but the attendance was good. Basavaraju must have invited Ganpati to that meeting,” Bhaskar says. Bhaskar believes that only Basavaraju knew about Ganpati’s actual location and perhaps his new identity. With Basavaraju’s death, I don’t think there is anyone who knows where Ganpati is. But one thing is for sure -- he is not in the Dandakaranya jungle, because we were there.” In the banned CPI(Maoist) party, CC meetings are ideally held once a year in the jungle to take stock of the party’s activities. Key decisions are taken and the way forward is discussed. Ratan Elam alias Bajirao describes Basavaraju’s killing on May 21, 2025, as something that signified the beginning of the end . “I was with another team about 100-150 km within the Abujhmad jungle when Basavaraju was killed. The junior cadres, not all but some, appeared to have lost faith in the movement.” As security forces intensified operations over the last two years, resulting in a record number of Maoists surrendering or being eliminated in gunfights, the CC grew increasingly desperate to convene. There were three simple questions: should they fight back, should they surrender, or should they insist on a ceasefire? But there were no answers because the leaders could not meet, say the five former Maoists. Their bastion in Abujhmad had been breached. Security forces were deployed everywhere to meet the March 31, 2026 deadline. “The Central Committee could not hold its meeting in Abhujmad as the forest was no longer safe for us. There was a communication gap and it led to friction between the remaining Central Committee members. This is why some have surrendered with arms, some without and others chose to fight,” Bajirao says. Apart from Ganpati, the only committee member who is at large is Misir Besra, hiding somewhere in the forest of Jharkhand, and being hunted by security forces. The five former military commanders have been assisting security forces in persuading remaining cadres to surrender. The five say they tell the cadres they will begin a peaceful revolution, maybe even contest elections. On Tuesday, 35 more cadres across Bastar surrendered to security forces after a long and exhaustive effort by police, locals and surrendered cadres. Rupesh admits asking his former comrades to leave the jungle is a difficult and emotional task. “We were the ones who once told them never to surrender and instead die for the cause.” naxal maoist affected districts 1 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prawesh Lama Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital. Communist Party Of India (maoist) Ganpati Surrender PickOfTheDay Check India news real-time updates, latest news from India and RBSE Rajasthan 12th Result 2026, latest at HindustanTime News / India News / Vanishing Footprint Of Maoism: ‘We Should’ve Negotiated In Late 2000s’ See Less

Jagdalpur: Monday evening. Union home minister Amit Shah is speaking in the Lok Sabha, detailing his government’s success in ridding India of left wing extremism or Naxalism. He speaks for almost 85 minutes, explaining how the state won.

At an undisclosed location in Bastar district’s Jagdalpur town, five top Naxal leaders who surrendered in late 2025, are listening to Shah. For decades, they fought the state, but admit that eventually, the state prevailed.

On Tuesday, the five meet with Hindustan Times at a park on the outskirts of Jagdalpur . They speak candidly about the decline of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the steady strengthening of intelligence networks and security forces, the leadership vacuum at the top of the insurgent group, their mistakes, curiosity over their former chief Ganpati, who is still at large, and their ultimate loss of relevance.

The tipping point in the state’s fight, according to one, came in 2009. “Until 2009, the government and intelligence agencies knew very little about our party and its military structure. They had no real insight. The Maoists were at full strength,” says Pawan Anand Reddy alias Chaitu (62), a state committee member of the proscribed party.

Then, things changed.

“It was sometime after 2009-10 that the government began systematically gathering information about us -- our hierarchy, governance model, and internal functioning. The first batches of surrendered cadres who joined the District Reserve Guards (DRG) revealed everything: our training methods, weaknesses, and military formations. Once that happened, the forces gained a clear understanding and prepared themselves for a long fight,” he adds.

Those years, according to Chaitu and his fellow comrade Rupesh alias Satish Kofa, also a state zonal committee member, were a phase when the CPI(Maoist) was strongest.

“Between 2007 and 2009, we were at our strongest in terms of numbers and outreach. There were around 2,500-3,000 full-time armed cadres in the Dandakaranya region alone, with support from 50,000 to 100,000 cadres across Bastar and adjoining areas. The Salwa Judum movement around 2005 caused us losses, but it also pushed thousands of villagers toward us. Support also poured in from other states where our influence had spread,” Rupesh says, referring to a state-sponsored militia that sought to combat the Maoists.

Rupesh, Chaitu, Ranita, Bhaskar alias Yadagir, and Ratan Elam alias Bajirao surrendered in October 2025 along with over 150 cadres. Their immediate senior, Central Committee (CC) member Mallujao Venugopal Rao aka Sonu Dada surrendered in Maharashtra before Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The movement’s decline also had to do with the state’s performance,adds Rupesh. “Our rise in the 1980s and 1990s was tied to the conditions in remote villages at the time. But by the mid-2000s, government schemes began reaching people. Even a 20% improvement in outreach meant we were steadily losing ground and cadres.”

And the CPI(Maoist) became an anachronism, says a third former Maoist. “While the government evolved, we remained fixated on building a liberated zone . Instead, we should have expanded into urban areas—among students and labourers. We failed to do that. Over time, our influence shrank from multiple states to just a few, eventually becoming confined to this Dandarkarnya forest among tribal populations,” says Bhaskar, who spent nearly 29 years in the jungle.

The warning signs the former Maoists admit, were there, but the Maoist leadership ignored them. They failed to understand the significance of operations such as Green Hunt and Operation Kagaar, massive offensive operations launched against Naxals; and did not react even when security forces started using choppers and drones, and started entering the jungles to take them on.

The party should have negotiated from a position of strength in the late 2000s, says Chaithu.

“We had the bargaining power then. Our leaders should have come out and done something”.

Instead, it was only over the past year, as it became evident that the end was nigh, that Maoist leaders sought a ceasefire, he adds.”But why would the government listen to our demands?They insisted on disarmament first—and we had lost all leverage.”

Over the past six months, security forces killed one senior leader after another, literally emptying the banned party’s military and political structure . But the former Maoists are also curious about the location of the former Maoist chief Ganpati alias Muppala Lakshmana Rao.

Someof the five claim to have last seen Ganpati at a CC meeting in Abujhmad sometime in 2022. He attended the meeting although he had, by then, handed over the reins of the party to Basavaraju(killed in gunfight last year) in 2018.

“Ganpati was there. Sonu dada (Venugopal Rao, who surrendered in Maharashtra on October 14, 2025) and Basavaraju were also there. Everyone could not attend the meeting but the attendance was good. Basavaraju must have invited Ganpati to that meeting,” Bhaskar says.

Bhaskar believes that only Basavaraju knew about Ganpati’s actual location and perhaps his new identity.

With Basavaraju’s death, I don’t think there is anyone who knows where Ganpati is. But one thing is for sure -- he is not in the Dandakaranya jungle, because we were there.”

In the banned CPI(Maoist) party, CC meetings are ideally held once a year in the jungle to take stock of the party’s activities. Key decisions are taken and the way forward is discussed.

Ratan Elam alias Bajirao describes Basavaraju’s killing on May 21, 2025, as something that signified the beginning of the end . “I was with another team about 100-150 km within the Abujhmad jungle when Basavaraju was killed. The junior cadres, not all but some, appeared to have lost faith in the movement.”

As security forces intensified operations over the last two years, resulting in a record number of Maoists surrendering or being eliminated in gunfights, the CC grew increasingly desperate to convene. There were three simple questions: should they fight back, should they surrender, or should they insist on a ceasefire? But there were no answers because the leaders could not meet, say the five former Maoists. Their bastion in Abujhmad had been breached. Security forces were deployed everywhere to meet the March 31, 2026 deadline.

“The Central Committee could not hold its meeting in Abhujmad as the forest was no longer safe for us. There was a communication gap and it led to friction between the remaining Central Committee members. This is why some have surrendered with arms, some without and others chose to fight,” Bajirao says.

Apart from Ganpati, the only committee member who is at large is Misir Besra, hiding somewhere in the forest of Jharkhand, and being hunted by security forces.

The five former military commanders have been assisting security forces in persuading remaining cadres to surrender. The five say they tell the cadres they will begin a peaceful revolution, maybe even contest elections. On Tuesday, 35 more cadres across Bastar surrendered to security forces after a long and exhaustive effort by police, locals and surrendered cadres.

Rupesh admits asking his former comrades to leave the jungle is a difficult and emotional task. “We were the ones who once told them never to surrender and instead die for the cause.”

Source: HindustanTimes
Related Posts: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Expand Streaming Footprint With New Netflix Agreement CBSE Class 11 Pongal, jaggery and a vanishing tradition in Tamil Nadu In Jharkhand, vanishing palash forest is eroding livelihoods The Vanishing Jumbo YouTube Now Offers AI-Powered Search Feature For More Users But Not In India Siri’s Big Upgrade 3-Month CAT 2025 Preparation Plan Bank Of Maharashtra Is Hiring For 500 Generalist Officer Posts