The Maoist party is facing an internal conflict, with two groups at odds over whether or not to lay down arms and join the mainstream. According to highly placed sources in the Telangana state intelligence wing, the two groups are led by Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu and Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji, both of whom are from the state.
While the former is the ideological head of the party and is in favour of surrendering, the latter, who wants the “armed struggle” to continue, is the current general secretary and former head of the Central Military Commission, the armed wing of the CPI (Maoists).
Indicating the internal split were three letters released to the public in quick succession. The first, written on August 15 and released on September 17, by Sonu said that the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is ready to “temporarily surrender arms” and is “ready for peace talks” with the Centre. It stated that the slain former general secretary of the party, Basavaraju, was in favour of laying down arms. “In view of the changed global and national circumstances, as well as the continuous requests from the Prime Minister, Home Minister and senior police officials to give up arms and join the mainstream, we are ready to give up arms and join the mainstream,” it said.
A rebuttal came in the form of a second letter released on September 19 by the Telangana state committee of the Maoist party, stating that Sonu’s letter expressed only his personal opinion. This one was signed by Jagan, the state committee’s spokesperson.
This was followed by another letter written on behalf of the Central Committee, Politburo and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the party, which called Sonu’s position “treason”. The third letter ruled out laying down arms completely, stating, “It is not our policy to betray the oppressed people by surrendering weapons to the enemy and joining the mainstream.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, a top intelligence official said, “One needs to understand the context from which these letters stem. The letters reveal the ‘two-line struggle’ within the party — one section is saying it is time to lay down arms, and the second saying it is time to fight with more gusto.”
The latest letter from the Central Committee read, “The changing international and domestic circumstances do not indicate an abandonment of the armed struggle. On the contrary, they demonstrate and prove the necessity of continuing armed struggle.”
The intelligence source said, “It is with the blessings of Devuji that this Central Committee letter has come out in favour of continuing the armed struggle.” Devuji, on whom there is a Rs 1 crore bounty, hails from Jagtial in Telangana. Sonu, from Peddapalli in Telangana, also carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head.
Sources said the tussle between the two groups within the party has been going on for the past year. Sonu’s wife, Tarakka, surrendered in Maharashtra a year ago, and his brother Kishenji’s wife, P Padmavati, surrendered in Telangana in September. In 2024, the party issued a Politburo document which said that its rungs are “weak” and it should “retreat”.
“A section of the party – its ideological backbone – has been contemplating surrendering and adopting democratic means. The other section, however, has been staunch supporters of armed struggle,” said a security official, citing the fact that in the past, several armed groups have adopted democratic means. “The most prominent example is CPI (Marxist, Leninist),” the official said.
The split in the party comes against the backdrop of a heightened security offensive against its members and cadre. The central committee, which at one point used to have 19 members, has been reduced to 10. “There is a crisis, and two wings of the party are responding in two different ways,” the official said.
