New Delhi: The Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zonal Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has said that its cadres are prepared to give up arms and join the mainstream by January 1, if governments in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh offer security guarantees and a transparent rehabilitation process.
MMCSZC spokesperson Anant wrote to the chief ministers of the three states on Thursday, expressing willingness to return to the mainstream, but underlined that previous rehabilitation efforts “remained on paper” and failed to protect surrendered Maoists and their families.
The banned CPI (Maoist) has come under tremendous pressure after sustained action by security forces. With the central government setting March 31, 2026, as the deadline to end Left-Wing insurgency in the country, security forces have killed over 270 Maoists over the past year in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Several top leaders were among those killed.
At least 1,225 Maoists have surrendered, and 680, including top leaders, have been arrested. The killing of Maoist chief Nambala Kesava Rao, alias Basavaraju, on May 20 marked the most significant success against Left-Wing insurgency in years.
The Centre has said that the number of Left-Wing insurgency-hit districts has now fallen to 11, from 18 in April.
The Maoists have urged the state governments to create an atmosphere conducive to peaceful transition and requested a temporary halt to operations in Maoist-affected areas until the surrender process concludes. He added that they would also cease all violent or organisational activities for the same period.
The letter referred to Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s comments, indicating a surrender process could be completed in 10 to 15 days. It agreed to the timeline and reiterated that neither side should initiate offensive action until January 1.
Anant has also sought a meeting between government representatives and Maoist interlocutors in Madhya Pradesh to discuss key proposals and build confidence.
Their cadres would be reachable via radio frequency 435.715 between 11 am and 11:15 am daily for the next month as part of the proposed coordination mechanism, he said in the letter.
The committee appealed to journalists and opinion makers to ensure that trust in the process is maintained. It added cadres, and their families want peace and a dignified return to society.
There was no immediate reaction from the Centre or the three state governments. An official said that it has to be ascertained whether this is a ploy by the Naxalites to regroup after suffering heavy losses.
The MMC committee has been active in the tri-junction forests of Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), and Rajnandgaon and Kabirdham in Chhattisgarh. The region is considered a key operational corridor for the Maoists.
The strategically significant area’s dense forests and interstate boundaries make coordinated anti-Maoist operations complicated. The region has historically been used as a logistics and recruitment base.
