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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.

Polls to test electoral arithmetic, chemistry among allies

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

THIS IS THE FIRST ASSEMBLY ELECTION WITH FRAGMENTED POLITICAL PARTIES


electoral arithmetic

Mumbai: With half a dozen key players post splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, a fragmented polity, Maratha quota stir and a spirited opposition, Maharashtra will see a riveting contest in the assembly polls amid dramatic changes since the last elections.


Elections to the 288-member Assembly will be held on November 20 in a single phase and counting of votes will be on November 23, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.

electoral arithmetic

The Nanded Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Vasant Chavan, will also be held on November 20.


The Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is banking on its flagship scheme, Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which poor women get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, to sway voters after the ruling bloc’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Rs 46,000-crore a year welfare scheme is being widely seen as a “game changer” for the ruling bloc which comprises the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who joined the government just over a year ago after parting ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar.


The government’s target is to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries under the scheme. There are about 4.5 crore women voters in Maharashtra.


The Mahayuti (grand alliance) is in a direct fight with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in a state where splits within major parties and realignments in the last five years have led to tectonic shift in political dynamics.


The MVA consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar.


Both the MVA and the Mahayuti are yet to announce their seat-sharing deals.

The ensuing assembly polls, the first since the splits in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the NCP a year later, will be a test of strength for the two major alliances and will also indicate the ability of their individual constituents to transfer votes to each other.


Even though the Lok Sabha elections saw the ruling alliance (which won 17 of 48 seats) suffering a jolt and the opposition MVA (30 seats) performing well, the assembly polls are going to be a different political ball game as state and local-level issues will dominate campaigning.


Maharashtra’s political climate has never been more fragmented, with six main parties vying for influence: BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).


This fragmentation is a product of recent political upheavals, including the collapse of the MVA government and the emergence of new political factions. The last five years have been unprecedented in Maharashtra politics -- collapse of a pre-poll alliance, three regimes, including a three-day government, splits in two major parties with the Election Commission recognizing the breakaway groups as “real”.

The murder of former state minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique on Dussehra (October 12) raised concerns about law and order and came as an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government ahead of the polls.


The opposition was quick to target the government, especially Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, over the killing and highlight issues of public safety and governance.

Despite reports that Ajit Pawar may walk out of the ruling alliance, he has stayed put. Maharashtra saw a change in government mid-way in June 2022 when the MVA government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray collapsed following a rebellion in his party Shiv Sena.


Shinde then succeeded Thackeray as CM with BJP support. The 2019 assembly polls changed several dynamics. First, a pre-poll alliance between the Shiv Sena-BJP snapped over the issue of chief ministership. Later, Shiv Sena joined hands with its traditional rivals Congress and the NCP to form government.

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