Is the elusive Muppala Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathi, General Secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), on his way out?
Documents gathered by the intelligence agencies from various encounters and exchanges of fire between the security forces and the Maoists in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB), Chhattisgarh and Odisha, hint that 68-year-old Ganapathi is paving way for his second-in-command and chief of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj.
Ideological differences
Ganapathi has led the CPI (Maoist) since its formation in 2004. The outfit was formed following the merger of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist), People’s War (People’s War Group) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI).
Primarily, the outfit is riven by ideological differences. In the early days, the movement was driven by the intelligentsia, sustained by young entrants from universities and colleges in Bengal, Andhra, Telangana and Bihar. Over the years, however, this is down to a trickle and the thrust is now on militarism. This is where Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj scores.
Basavraj is an expert in explosives and military techniques, has good network with the arms traders and a military strategist. He appears to be a better choice over other senior leaders such as Prashant Bose of the MCCI.
“There is a clear indication that the focus has now shifted to a military movement rather than an ideological movement. And in such a scenario, Basavraj fits the cap, as he has been heading the CMC, the strongest and only military wing of the CPI(Maoist), ever since its formation in 2004,” said a senior officer in anti-Maoist operation in the AOB region.
The CMC was formed with the merger of the PGA (People’s Guerilla Army) of the CPI(ML), the PWG and the PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army) of the MCCI. It is the strongest, fittest and well-armed military outfit of the Maoists, and is credited with all the recent military strikes in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra and Telangana. The leadership crisis was evident from a 7,000-word letter written by Ganapathi in 2013 to the cadres. The Politburo that had a strength of about 14 in 2005 has dwindled to seven, within 11 years.