India's Progress Against Maoist Extremism: LWE-Affected Districts Drop from 126 to 11

All three most-affected districts are located in Chhattisgarh.

New Delhi:

In what the government considers a significant achievement toward its goal of a "Naxal-free Bharat," the number of districts categorized as "most affected" by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has decreased by half to just three - Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur, all in Chhattisgarh. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the total count of "LWE-affected" districts across India has also declined from 18 to 11.

The current 11 "LWE-affected" districts include seven in Chhattisgarh (Bijapur, Dantewada, Gariyaband, Kanker, Mohalla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Narayanpur, and Sukma), West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Kandhamal in Odisha.

The Centre has stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, it has achieved "unprecedented success" in fighting the Maoist insurgency through a comprehensive approach that combines security operations with development and welfare initiatives.

During this year alone, security forces have eliminated 312 Maoist cadres, including the CPI (Maoist) general secretary and eight other senior leaders. Additionally, 836 cadres have been arrested, while 1,639 have voluntarily surrendered, including a Politburo member and a Central Committee member.

Officials attribute this success to the thorough implementation of the National Action Plan and Policy, which focuses on intelligence-driven and people-friendly counter-insurgency operations. The strategy encompasses reclaiming security vacuum areas, targeting top Maoist leadership, countering extremist ideology, developing road and communication infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive welfare scheme coverage, cutting off financial support to Maoist groups, and enhancing Centre-state coordination.

Once described by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010 as India's "biggest internal security challenge," Maoist extremism now appears to be steadily declining. In 2013, Maoist-related violence was reported in 126 districts across multiple states. By March 2025, that figure had dropped dramatically to just 18 districts, with only six considered "most affected."

The Modi government has established March 31, 2026, as its target date to completely eradicate Left Wing Extremism from the country.