In what the government is terming a major achievement towards its goal of a "Naxal-free Bharat," the number of districts "most affected" by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has halved to three - Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. The total number of "LWE-affected" districts across the country has also fallen from 18 to 11, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The 11 "LWE-affected" districts now are Bijapur, Dantewada, Gariyaband, Kanker, Mohalla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Narayanpur, and Sukma in Chhattisgarh; West Singhbhum in Jharkhand; Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh; Gadchiroli in Maharashtra; and Kandhamal in Odisha.
The Centre said that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has achieved "unprecedented success" in combating the Maoist menace through a multi-pronged approach combining security operations, development, and welfare measures.
This year alone, 312 Maoist cadres have been eliminated, including the CPI (Maoist) general secretary and eight other senior leaders. Another 836 cadres have been arrested, while 1,639 have surrendered, the government said. Those who surrendered include a Politburo member and a Central Committee member.
Officials credit the success to the rigorous implementation of the National Action Plan and Policy, which emphasises intelligence-based and people-friendly counter-insurgency operations. The strategy includes reclaiming areas where there is a security vacuum, targeting top Maoist leaders, countering extremist ideology, expanding road and communication networks, ensuring saturation of welfare schemes, choking financial support to Maoist groups, and strengthening coordination between the Centre and states.
Once described by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010 as India's "biggest internal security challenge", Maoism now appears to be on a steady decline. In 2013, 126 districts across several states reported Maoist-related violence. By March 2025, that number had dropped to just 18, with only six considered "most affected."
The Modi government has set March 31, 2026, as its target date to completely eradicate Left Wing Extremism from the country.
