Naxal leadership dwindling, says govt

A day after Union Minister Amit Shah’s no to ‘ceasefire’ offer by Naxalites, a dossier prepared by the security and intelligence agencies revealed that after a series of arrests, surrenders and encounters, the top leadership of the Left Wing Extremists has now been dwindling, with only 13 people left in its apex body - four members of the Politburo and nine members of the Central Committee.

- MUKESH RANJAN @New Delhi

According to officials, the target of completely annihilating armed Naxals by March 31, 2026 might now be achieved before time, possibly by the end of this year.

The officials said that a few members of the People Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) are still at large and that they might attempt to escalate violence, but they too would meet the same fate, as, according to the dossier, Madvi Hidma, who is learnt to be leading the pack and is the most-wanted, has not been able to contact the surviving top Maoist leaders.

At its peak by mid-2000, the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist) had over two dozen members, who