The Collapse of Maoist Leadership: How Madvi Hidma's Death Signals the Decline of Left-Wing Extremism in India

The death of Madvi Hidma, a Central Committee member and commander of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, represents a devastating operational and ideological setback for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

This significant loss, combined with other eliminations and surrenders of top leaders throughout 2025, has substantially weakened the Maoist leadership structure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah's declared deadline to eliminate left-wing extremism in India appears increasingly attainable.

According to recent intelligence reports available up until Hidma's elimination, the remaining senior leadership has been severely diminished and primarily consists of elderly members of Telugu origin.

The CPI (Maoist) politburo, its highest decision-making authority, has suffered critical losses this year, including the death of party general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao (Basavaraju) in May and the surrender of prominent member Mallojula Venugopal Rao (Sonu) in October.

Currently, the key politburo figures include Thippiri Tirupathi (Devuji/Devji), who was appointed the new General Secretary and leads the Central Regional Bureau (CRB), and Misir Besra (Sagar/Sunirmal), who heads the Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB).

Notably, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) of Andhra Pradesh, Mahesh Chandra Laddha, has reported that nine of the 31 Maoists arrested from neighboring districts were part of Devuji's security detail.

Mupalla Laxman Rao (Ganapathy), the former General Secretary, remains a nominal politburo member despite being elderly and largely inactive.

Internal tensions between Devuji, who reportedly favors peace negotiations in his region, and Besra, who has denounced surrenders and ceasefires, further destabilize the party's internal cohesion.

"The ideological divisions within the leadership are now public and have clearly undermined the party," revealed Pillari Prasad Rao (Chandranna), a Central Committee member for 17 years who recently joined mainstream society, in an exclusive interview with NDTV.

The Central Committee, the second-highest decision-making body, has lost its last tribal representative from the Bastar region with Hidma's death, removing a crucial figure who had unique influence over local tribal cadres.

"Hidma was influential and almost a cult figure among tribal youth who would get inspired by his talk. So his elimination is important on that count too," Andhra Pradesh DGP Harish Kumar Gupta told NDTV.

The Central Committee's membership has reportedly decreased to approximately 10 individuals, including politburo members, following successful anti-Naxal operations throughout 2025.

Surviving Central Committee members, apart from politburo representatives, include Paka Hanumanthu (Ganesh Uike), Pathiram Manjhi (Anal Da/Marandi), Malla Raja Reddy (Sangram/Murli), and Ramdev (Majidev).

The consistent elimination of Central Committee members in 2025, such as Katta Ramachandra Reddy and Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy in September, demonstrates the ongoing weakening of this vital organizational body.

Hidma's most crucial role was as the de facto leader and chief strategist of PLGA Battalion No. 1, the organization's most formidable combat unit. His elimination creates a significant vacuum in the group's military command structure.

His expertise in guerrilla warfare and intimate knowledge of Bastar's forest terrain will be nearly impossible for any non-local or non-tribal leader to replicate.

While Hidma had succeeded Barse Deva in 2021 as PLGA Battalion No. 1 commander, he continued guiding the battalion as a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). His death leaves the unit without strategic leadership.

Security forces interpret Hidma's elimination as a definitive indication that the Maoist movement in the Bastar region faces an irreversible leadership crisis.

The remaining leadership is aging, predominantly non-local, of Telugu origin, and reportedly experiencing significant internal discord and coordination problems. This loss severely impairs the organization's ability to plan and execute large-scale armed operations, particularly in critical tri-junction zones.

Already under intense pressure from Operation Kagar, and with states like Andhra Pradesh preventing their re-entry, the Maoist leadership finds itself with diminishing safe havens for operations and survival.