NEW DELHI: The number of alive and active CPI (Maoist) politburo members, as per documents maintained by Chhattisgarh police, has depleted to barely four – general secretary Namballa Keshava Rao alias Basavraju, Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganpathy, Mallajulla Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, and Misir Besra – from 16 in 2004 on account of killings, arrests, surrenders and deaths due to illnesses.
While Keshava Rao is around 67 years old, Ganpathy is a ripe 75, Sonu 62, and Besra 64.
The other key decision-making body of the CPI (Maoist) – central committee – now comprises no more than 11-12 active members, as per Chhattisgarh police documents accessed by TOI. Apart from the four politburo members who are also members of the central committee, the documents mention Thippari Tirupathi alias Devji (64); Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa (72), Ganesh Uike (60) and Pullari Prasad Rao alias Chandranna (60) as its active and alive members. Patiram Manjhi alias Anil da, believed to be in hiding in Jharkhand, Modem Balakrishna and Gajarla Ravi, all central committee members, somehow do not figure in the Chhattisgarh police’s list of “active/alive” top Maoist leaders.
A senior officer of the central intelligence establishment said the CPI(Maoist) central committee undergoes new additions from time to time, with some leaders getting added by virtue of being in charge of special zonal committees and state committees. However, these are mostly armed, military-trained tribal commanders with little or no education, unlike the old leadership that had kept the Naxal movement alive with their ideological heft and commitment derived from high education in institutions like REC, Warangal, and a well-read background.
According to the officer, more than the loss of Maoist boots on the ground in stepped-up operations, what may be dealing a body blow to Left-wing extremism is the ‘brain’ loss on account of advanced age, arrests, killing and natural deaths of top CPI(Maoist) leaders. The second-rung leadership largely comprises members high on guerrilla tactics and mostly hailing from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, but low on ideological thought.
Over the years, several politburo members have died due to illness or have been arrested and even expelled by the CPI(Maoist). For instance, Prashant Bose alias Kishen Da was arrested in 2021, while Katakam Sudharshan died of illness in 2023. Kobad Gandhy was arrested in 2019, but he was expelled from the party. Pramod Mishra too was arrested in 2023 and Sumanand, last year. Much earlier, Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was killed in 2010 and Mallojula Koteshwara Rao alias Kishen ji in 2011. Sushil Rao and Narayan Sanyal died of illness in 2014 and 2017, respectively.
The central committee has shrunk from 32 members in 2004, including 16 politburo members. Non-politburo members who died include Ramanna (2019), Yapa Narayan (2021), Bansindhar Singh (2020), Akkiraju Rajgopal (2021), Lakhmu (2021), and Mallaraji Reddy (2023). Members killed in anti-Naxal operations include Deepak ‘Milind’ Teltumbde in Gadchiroli in (2021), and recently, Ramachandra Reddy in Chhattisgarh. Arrested members include Sheela Marandi (2021), Sanjay Deepak Rao (2023), Vijay Krishnamurthy (2021), Mithilesh Mehta (2022), Arun Bhattacharjee (2019), and Balraj (2010).