'The watershed moment was June 22, 2024, when the divisional in-charge of Gadchiroli, Giridhar Tumreti, who was their senior-most commander, along with his wife, came forward to surrender before the then deputy chief minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
Once the might of the Indian establishment turned completely against the Maoists, there was no way they could survive -- either in Gadchiroli or anywhere else, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
'For the remaining Maoist cadres, they shall soon confront one of two outcomes: Either surrender or face neutralisation.'
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
'When a grassroots worker has laboured day and night for the organisation, does the party not have a responsibility to recognise and uplift such workers?'
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, in a rare instance since the undivided Shiv Sena's fall out with the BJP in 2019, praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday for his efforts to turn Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district into a steel city.
Seventeen villages nestled among nearly inaccessible mountains and dense forests in Naxal-hit Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of Chhattisgarh have got electricity from the supply grid for the first time, officials said on Friday.
One of the slain Maoists was identified as DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, incharge of Tipagad Dalam.
'When there was no crime committed, everything had to be fabricated. They see it as a war, and everything is fair in love and war.'
'That is how our machinery operates and sees every prisoner.'
There where nearly 15 guests staying in the hotel at the time of the mishap.
The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter.
'As casualties go, Maoism has been exacting a heavy price, and with a sickening regularity.' 'Yet, it is the other threat that hog all the limelight, the headlines and the TV studio debates,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, officials said.