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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated,...

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated, highlighting the dramatic turnaround. He revealed that from approximately 100 Maoist cadres on record in January 2024, the number has plummeted to barely 10 individuals whose movements are now confined to a very small pocket of the Bhamragad sub-division in South Gadchiroli, near the Chhattisgarh border. “North Gadchiroli is now free of Maoism. The Maoists have to surrender and join the mainstream or face police action... there is no other option.” The SP attributes this success to a meticulously executed multi-pronged strategy encompassing intensified anti-Maoist operations, a robust Civic Action Programme, and the effective utilisation of Maharashtra’s attractive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy. The Gadchiroli Police, especially the elite C-60 commandos, have achieved significant operational milestones. In the last three years alone, they have neutralised 43 hardcore Maoists and achieved a 100 per cent success rate in operations without police casualties for nearly five years. SP Neelotpal highlighted that the security forces have aggressively moved to close the “security vacuum,” which was once an estimated 3,000 square kilometres of unpoliced territory used by Maoists for training and transit. The establishment of eight new police camps/Forward Operating Bases (FoBs) since January 2023, including in the remote Abujhmad foothills, has been crucial in securing these areas permanently. Winning Hearts, Minds The Civic Action Programme has been deemed a “game changer” by the SP. Through schemes like ‘Police Dadalora Khidaki’ and ‘Project Udaan’, the police have transformed remote outposts into service delivery centres, providing essential government services and employment opportunities. This sustained outreach has successfully countered Maoist propaganda and, most critically, resulted in zero Maoist recruitment from Gadchiroli for the last few years. Surrender Wave The state’s progressive rehabilitation policy has seen a massive influx of surrenders. “One sentiment is common among all the surrendered cadres: that the movement has ended, it has lost public support, and without public support, no movement can sustain,” the SP noted. The surrender of key figures, notably that of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias ‘Bhupathi,’ a CPI (Maoist) Politburo member, and his wife Sangeeta, was a “landmark development” that triggered a surrender wave. Since June 2024, over 126 Maoists have surrendered. The rehabilitation program offers land, housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and employment. Surrendered cadres are receiving skill training and are successfully transitioning into normal life, with around 70 already employed in the local Lloyds plant. A District Reborn The transformation of Gadchiroli is now moving beyond security concerns. With the decline of extremism, the district is rapidly moving towards development and normalcy. The implementation of development schemes, round-the-clock electricity, water supply, mobile towers, and new infrastructure like roads and bridges is being given top priority. He concludes that the police’s focus is now shifting from an anti-Maoist offensive to routine law-and-order policing, addressing new challenges like industrialisation, theft, and traffic management. With the Maoist movement in “complete disarray” and major strongholds like the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone collapsing, the SP is highly optimistic. Gadchiroli is not just getting rid of the Naxal menace; it is embracing its future as a developing, peaceful district, well on track to meet the central government’s goal of eradicating Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

Parli’s Political Powder Keg

Munde

Come November 20, Maharashtra’s Parli constituency in Beed has become a rural microcosm for the heightened caste tensions in the Marathwada region. Long known as a stronghold of the Munde clan, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, who is the ruling Mahayuti’s candidate, is gearing up for a fiercely contested election where Maratha and OBC sentiments are set to clash in the wake of the Maratha quota agitation.


The ‘Jarange factor’ (after Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil) is poised to expose the undercurrents of caste politics in a region traditionally dominated by the BJP, particularly owing to the influence and legacy of late stalwart BJP leader Gopinath Munde.


For the BJP and the Mahayuti, the narrow defeat of their candidate Pankaja Munde in the Beed Lok Sabha constituency (of which Parli is part) battle earlier this year, was a major blow, with the Maratha sentiment playing a crucial role in her loss to Bajrang Sonawane of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).


Pankaja had secured victories in Parli in both the 2009 and 2014 elections but fell short of a hat-trick in 2019, when her cousin Dhananjay Munde defeated her by over 30,000 votes. Over the past five years, the sibling rivalry has been set aside, with the duo mending their differences.


While Munde was later rehabilitated as an MLC, her cousin Dhananjay is up against the NCP (SP)’s strategic nominee, Rajesaheb Deshmukh. The canny Sharad Pawar, to capitalize on the caste schism, has fielded Deshmukh – a Maratha – against Munde, a Vanjari OBC leader.


Dhananjay, however, downplays the intensity of the Maratha sentiments, suggesting that the agitation under Jarange-Patil has now waned, though political observers remain sceptical. Earlier this month, Jarange-Patil, who had threatened to field his candidates from the Maratha community, had, in a surprise announcement, done a volte face, stating he was taking back his announcement.


The NCP (SP)’s fielding of Deshmukh, picked by Sharad Pawar, underscores not just the narrative of Maratha identity politics but of Pawar senior’s Machiavellian moves to counter Ajit Pawar’s top aides (among whom Dhananjay is counted as such).


In an unabashedly populist announcement, Deshmukh has promised to arrange marriages for bachelors in Parli if elected, highlighting the struggle of rural men to find brides due to lack of employment opportunities. Deshmukh criticized his rival Dhananjay Munde for failing to bring industries to the area, which he argued has worsened the situation for local youth seeking jobs and marriage prospects.


Meanwhile, seasoned NCP leader Prakash Solanke, who announced his ‘retirement’ from active politics just months ago, has re-entered the fray in neighbouring Majalgaon.


In October last year, a violent mob had pelted stones and torched Solanke’s home after the Maratha quota agitation under Jarange-Patil had taken a turn for the worse.


With several Maratha candidates to contest against Solanke in Majalgaon, the upcoming election will hinge around identity politics rather than about governance.


As for Parli, the balance of power will hinge on how effectively Dhananjay Munde can navigate the simmering discontent among Marathas and the OBC community’s concerns.

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