CM achieves Gadchiroli feat

he surrender of one of the country’s seniormost Maoist leaders Mallojula Venugopal alias Bhupathi, along with 60 other Maoists, comes as a major triumph for the Maharashtra government.

- SHAILESH GAIKWAD

Getting Bhupathi, who is a politburo member of the banned CPI (Maoist), to surrender by negotiating with him following his differences with other leaders of the outfit, is being perceived as a major coup of the home department led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

According to CMO officials, the plan to get Bhupathi to give himself up was underway ever since his wife and Maoist leader Tarakka Sidam relinquished arms before Fadnavis in January 2025. While Bhupathi was in two minds about surrendering, and whether to do this in Maharashtra or Chhattisgarh, a CMO official said that Fadnavis was particularly keen on his surrender, as it would send a clear signal that Maoists were on their way out in Maharashtra and Gadchiroli, which earlier governments had been unable to achieve.

Fadnavis made it a point to personally go for the surrender function. “I would have gone to the jungle too if it was being organised there,” he quipped in his speech.

Ending Maoist activity was one of Fadnavis’ major objectives when he became the guardian minister of Gadchiroli during his first term as CM and continued when he joined the Shinde government as home minister. Bhupathi’s surrender is thus also significant for him personally.

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