Exclusive | Cracks widen within rapidly thinning Maoist leadership: Politburo member now condemns Telangana ‘ceasefire’

This comes amid a series of setbacks for the Maoists in recent months. The general secretary of the CPI (Maoist), Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, was among 27 Maoists killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh in May. Since last year, as security forces have stepped up operations in Chhattisgarh, more than 470 Maoists have been killed in encounters. There have also been a series of surrenders in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and other states, including that of Politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, who was considered the ideological head of the party.

This year has witnessed a series of surrenders by Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and other states

Besra (63), who heads the Maoists’ Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), issued a statement on November 5, condemning the surrenders. Usually known by his aliases Sunirmal and Sagar, Besra issued the statement under another alias, Sanket. The 63-year-old carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore. The ERB consists of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

He wrote, “ERB is clarifying that the surrenders under the leadership of our party Politburo member Sonu in Gadchiroli, under the leadership of our Central Committee member Satish in Jagdalpur, and in Telangana by Central Committee member Chandranna… are all results of escapism…”

Coming down heavily on the Telangana State Committee, Besra said it had declared “a unilateral ceasefire” for the past six months. “Telangana State Committee has already made an unexpected agreement with Telangana government… and has surrendered before Telangana government informally and in an undeclared manner,” the statement read.

After Basavaraju’s killing, Devuji is believed to have been made the general secretary of the party, though it has not confirmed the development. A Telangana intelligence official said, “While the leadership of Tirupathi (Devuji) is not contested in the CRB, the ERB seems to have emerged as a separate force in the party.” Both the leaders, Devuji and Besra, come from marginalised communities. While Besra is from the Santal (Scheduled Tribe) community, Devuji is from the Madiga (Scheduled Caste) community.

The leadership crisis, exemplified by the many splits within the banned organisation, has come at a time when the security forces are working towards meeting a deadline of March 2026, set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to eliminate Left Wing Extremism. Shah has also called on the Maoist leadership to surrender unconditionally.