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NEW DELHI: The surrender by CPI(Maoist) politburo member Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu along with senior and mid-level cadres is being seen as a sign of a vertical split in the Naxal outfit already grappling with an erosion in its leadership and armed strength as well as a rapidly-shrinking arc of influence.The split was evident when Sonu took the initiative to announce on behalf of the CPI(Maoist) central committee, a willingness of armed cadres to lay down weapons and explore the prospects of peace talks with the Centre; only to be disowned by the Telangana state committee, central committee and a section of Dandkarenya special zonal committee (DKSZC). In statements issued subsequently, the latter labelled Sonu’s view in favour of a temporary ceasefire and peace talks as his “individual opinion’ and not the collective view of the CPI(Maoist) leadership. They even described him as a traitor who was not authorised by the outfit to issue a statement under the generic nom de guerre ‘Abhay’ used by its spokesperson.A senior Chhattisgarh govt official told TOI, “The split in Maoist ranks became obvious when the north and west sub-zonal bureau of DKSZC supported Sonu’s stand on denouncing violent extremism and joining the mainstream. However, the south sub-zonal bureau of DKSZC and Telangana state committee opposed it; the main leaders in this camp are Thippiri Tirupathi alias Dev ji, believed to have stepped in as CPI (Maoist) general secretary following the neutralisation of Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju earlier this year, Chandranna and Hidma etc. The stand of Odisha state committee and Jharkhand faction is not clear on this issue, though”.The fissures in CPI(Maoist) top leadership —also fuelled by an apparent succession tussle between Devji and Sonu — may have come at an opportune time for the anti-Naxal forces as they move closer to the target of eliminating armed Left-wing extremism (LWE) from the country by March 31, 2026. Following Sonu’s surrender, the politburo’s strength is down to just three — comprising general secy Dev ji, his aged predecessor Muppalla Laxman Rao alias Ganpathy and Misir Besra, a rare Jharkhand representative in the CPI(Maoist) apex body where the Telugu-speaking ideologues have always held sway.“The end of violent Naxalism is near. The intensified counter-operations by Chhattisgarh police and the Central forces in the core Naxal area across Abujmarh region have jolted the Maoist leadership and cadres, leaving them with only two options — surrender and join the mainstream or face elimination,” Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai told TOI on Tuesday.The surrender by Sonu, which follows months after his sister in law and central committee member Sujata joined the mainstream, also shows that pragmatism may be replacing ideological affinity.Home minister Amit Shah has already ruled out any ceasefire with the Maoists.
