From BTech student to top Maoist functionary

KNOWN as the mastermind behind major attacks on security forces in Chhattisgarh, CPI (Maoist) general secretary Namballa Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, had joined the movement in the 1970s and elevated to the top post in the banned outfit seven years ago, when Maoist activities in their stronghold Bastar region were appearing to be wearing out.

- Chowdari Lakshmana Rao @ Srikakulam

Born in 1955 in Jiyyannapeta of Kotabommali mandal near NH-16, Keshava Rao was the second son of Vasudeva Rao, a late government teacher, and Lakshmi Narayanamma. He is survived by his elder brother, Dhilleswara Rao, a former kabaddi player and retired Port Blair sea port chairman, and younger brother, Ram Prasad, a Visakhapatnam-based real estate businessman, and one of his two sisters.

Keshava Rao, a skilled kabaddi and volleyball player, completed his BTech at the Regional Engineering College, Warangal. While pursuing his MTech, he joined the People's War Group (PWG) in 1976 at the age of 21, drawn to the ideologies of leaders like Kondapalli Seetharamayya and KG Satyamurthy, and influenced by Srikakulam's anti-landlord movement. After joining the PWG, which later became the Maoist party, he cut ties with his village and family, and remained unmarried.