Maoists desperate to regain bases in AP, Telangana

HYDERABAD: Monday’s killing of 24 Maoists in the Malkangiri forests of Odisha, barely 10 km from the Andhra border, has lent credence to the suspicion that the outlawed extremist outfit was trying to regain entry into Andhra Pradesh.

The rebels have been trying to exploit the growing resentment among local Adivasis against the proposed bauxite mining and construction of the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project that would submerge over one lakh acres in the tribal areas.

The Maoists were virtually wiped out from unified Andhra Pradesh after the breakdown of talks with the then YS Rajasekhar Reddy government in October 2004.

Several top Maoist leaders were killed in encounters and the remaining brass shifting base to the forests of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

However, they have not given up their attempts to return to Andhra Pradesh, once their stronghold.

In fact, the Maoist party is dominated mostly by Telugus — nearly 275 leaders and cadre at different levels are from Telangana and AP.

Of the 17 central committee members, 11 are Telugus – general secretary Muppala Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathi is from Karimnagar in Telangana.

And among the six politburo members, four are from Andhra and Telangana.

Besides the general secretary, all top positions in the Central Military Commission, Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee and Central Committee are held by Telugus.

As part of its strategy, the outfit overtly and covertly supported the movement for a separate Telangana state, hoping that a divided AP would make their entry easier.

In the last four to five years, they have become quite active on the Andhra-Odisha border due to permissions given to private bauxite mining companies in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam tribal belts.

The rebels have indulged in kidnappings and killings of government officials and policemen here, besides calling for frequent shutdown of towns and villages in the border areas.

With the fast-tracking of the Polavaram project on Godavari river, boosted by 100% funding from the Centre as part of the special package to AP, the Maoists have smelt an opportunity there.

They feel the situation is ideal as the project would displace 1.8 lakh people belonging to 277 villages, mostly the tribal areas in both the states, besides Chhattisgarh and Odisha.