Gondia: In clear indication of the kind of confusion and chaos prevailing within the top order of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), Vikas Nagpure alias Ananth, spokesperson of the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh Special Zonal Committee (MMCSZC), laid down arms before the police on Friday night at Gondia in Maharashtra.
Ananth’s surrender comes a day after he wrote a letter to the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, announcing that all Maoists under MMCSZC would surrender by January 1, 2026.
Officials confirmed that Ananth has surrendered with 15 of his associates. However, the reason behind this move is not known. There are some who believe that he had started fearing for his life as there are some within the outfit who are against the peace initiative.
Ananth had written twice to the authorities over the last few days. In a letter dated November 22, he had asked the three state governments to give them a breathing space time till February 15, 2026 to reach a consensus. In that letter, he had said that the top Maoist leadership would require that much time to get together and work out details.
He had also assured that the CPI (Maoist) would forego its People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Week celebrations and sought a cessation of strikes by security forces.
On November 27, he released another letter and audio clips to the media, in which he said the Maoists were ready to give up arms by January 1, 2026.
He also mentioned that his comrades should not lay down the arms in small groups but en masse. He also gave a radio set frequency-435.715 to all MMC cadres to contact the leadership between 11 am and 11:15 am every day for the next month until January 1, 2026.
“It is possible that a major rift has taken place among the top leadership of the outfit. While some leaders are in favour of giving up the armed struggle, there are others like Ganesh Uike who have issued statements that the fight will continue. Ananth may have been targeted. Things will become clearer soon,” an official said.
It is this confusion and chaos that authorities have been trying to create within the Maoists, ever since the Union home ministry set a deadline of March 31, 2026, for the end of Left Wing Extremism in India. Over 270 Maoists have been killed in operations across the country over the last one year.
Officials have shunned talks and said that lucrative rehabilitation packages await those who surrender. Over a thousand rebels have done that so far.
