Number of Left Wing Extremism districts reduced to three from six: Home Ministry

In significant changes to India’s “red corridor”, the number of districts “most-affected” by left wing extremism (LWE) has reduced to three from six, the Union Home Ministry said on Wednesday (October 15, 2025).

Now, Bijapur, Sukma and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh remain under the classification of “most affected”. the statement said. Previously in April this year, the number was reduced to six from 12, with Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma in Chhattisgarh; West Singhbhum in Jharkhand; and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra as the six most affected districts.

According to the Ministry, the number of districts affected by Maoism has also been further brought down to 11 from 18. “The government is committed to completely eradicate the Maoist menace by the March 31, 2026”, it added.

“Operational successes have surpassed all previous records this year wherein 312 LWE cadres have been eliminated, including CPI (Maoist) general secretary and 08 other polit bureau/ central committee members,” the Home Ministry said.

 About 836 LWE cadres have been arrested and 1639 have surrendered and joined the mainstream so far. This includes one polit bureau member and a central committee member, the statement added. 

The counter LWE operations were carried out under the National Action Plan and Policy which were “precise intelligence-based and people friendly”. The steps were accompanied by swift domination of areas with security vacuum, and targeting of top leaders as well as over ground workers, the Ministry said.

Further, the Home Ministry said the operations involved choking of finances, enhanced coordination between States and central government, and accelerated prosecution of Maoist related cases.

As many as 27 active Maoists carrying a total bounty of ₹50 lakh surrendered before the police in Sukma district on Wednesday. In the intervening night of October 13 and 14, 61 Maoists, including prominent central committee member of CPI (Maoist) Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati, surrendered in front of the Maharashtra Police at Fodewada village in Bhamragad.