3 min readHyderabadUpdated: Feb 8, 2026 10:33 AM IST
The once formidable Communist Party of India (Maoist) has a fast-depleting cadre base, as the Union Home Ministry’s March 31 deadline to end Naxalism is fast approaching.
According to Telangana intelligence sources, the Maoist party now has an armed cadre strength of just 220 cadres who carry top-range weapons. At the commencement of Operation Kagar in January 2024, this number was 2,200.
This comes at a time when senior Maoist leader Prabhakar Rao, also known as Ravi, Parkal Veer, Swamy, Padakala Swamy and Loketi Chandar Rao, was among seven Maoists killed in an encounter by Gadchiroli Police in Abujhmad ahead of the Centre’s deadline.
The cadre base is supported by a militia base of 1,000 people. “In 2022, the militia was 7,000 in number,” an intelligence official said. The strength of the banned outfit has fallen manifold by 1/10 its original size, a Telangana intelligence source told The Indian Express.
The difference between the cadre and militia is that the former carried sophisticated weapons and were hidden deep in the forest, whereas the militia is a rag-tag group of trained armed people who support the cadre.
The larger support base of the party was 1 lakh in January 2024; now it is just 20,000 people, intelligence sources said. “The Maoist party has collapsed. They will soon be a flash in the pan,” a top intelligence officer told the Indian Express. He added: “The party is reduced to mere skeletal remains”.
Even the central committee, which is one of the main decision-making bodies of the party other than the politburo, now has only five members.
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“The CC strength was 19 at the beginning of 2024. While several were neutralised, others have surrendered,” the intelligence source said.
Among those killed were Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of the party, who was killed in May 2025. In the most recent times, in November 2025, Madvi Hidma was killed.
“After the death of Hidma, the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) Battalion 1 completely collapsed. While there were 250 members in this battalion, now 40 remain,” the intelligence source said.
The collapse of the party was also caused by a large number of surrenders in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. “After the demise of Hidma, Barsa Deva was the PLGA battalion chief. He surrendered in Telangana, leading to the complete collapse of this deadly battalion,” a Telangana intelligence official said. On the ideological front, the biggest blow was that of the surrender of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu in Gadchiroli. Rao was the ideological head of the Maoist party.
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Of those who are still at large, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji is believed to be the most prized asset. “Devuji is the last one standing, along with three other CC members who all hail from Telangana. Our request to them is to surrender,” the intelligence source said.
