NEW DELHI: Surrendered CPI(Maoist) politburo member Thippiri Thirupathi alias Deoji, who was de-facto chief of the outfit after general secretary Namballa Keshav Rao was killed in May 2025, has decided to embrace democratic politics and raise people-centric issues in an open and legal manner. He has, however, ruled out entering electoral politics just yet.Currently studying law in a college in Hyderabad, Deoji wants to repurpose CPI(Maoist) into the party vehicle for carrying out his political plans. For this, he has demanded that the ban on CPI(Maoist) be lifted and even agreed on the need to rewrite the outfit’s political document to revise its tactics and strategy from “seizing power through armed struggle” to “people’s politics”.“The current circumstances are not conducive to continuing armed struggle…so we have decided to shun violence, illegal and secret activities and take up open and lawful political activity. In politics, our central agenda shall be to build an oppression and exploitation-free society…we will agitate for people’s rights and organise protests,” he stated in an exclusive interview to TOI more than 8 months after he surrendered before the Telangana police and joined the mainstream.Deoji said lifting of ban on CPI(Maoist) will give him an established platform to practice politics. However, if the ban is not reviewed anytime soon, he is open to floating an alternative political outfit. Apart from ending the UAPA ban on CPI(Maoist) and its fronts, the surrendered leader demanded that the Maoists still in jails should be freed. Though the state govts are reviewing non-serious cases against Maoists, Deoji is opposed to a distinction being drawn between serious and non-serious offences. “A blanket political call must be taken to drop cases against Maoists, irrespective of the gravity,” he said and even sought similar leniency for the 10 Maoists awarded death sentence for the Jhiram Ghati massacre.The Central govt, as per sources, has consistently opposed a “general amnesty” to Maoists. An NIA court had recently convicted and awarded death sentence to 10 Maoists in the case relating to the May 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack, which had killed 27 people including top Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh.Deoji revealed that the armed Naxal movement was severely hit due to sustained, decisive operations undertaken by the Central forces between Jan 2024 and March 2026, which literally “locked-in” the CPI(Maoist) leaders and cadres in Dandakaranya. Though the politburo and central committee leaders had, at their last meeting in August 2024, agreed to revise tactics — like disbanding the bigger formations like PLGA, operating in small teams, asking cadres to move out of Dandakaranya and focusing on working among the people — these could not be implemented as the leadership and cadres were encircled and overwhelmed by well-equipped counter-Naxal forces.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
“Our leaders, including general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, were killed. Weapons were seized and cadres got concentrated in one place. This crushed our movement,” he revealed.Deoji said Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu surrendered without any go-ahead from the CPI(Maoist) leadership. “This triggered a chain reaction and we were unable to arrest the wave of surrenders,” he said.The August 2024 meeting of the apex Maoist leadership was attended by Basavaraju, former general secretary Ganpathy, politburo members Deoji and Sonu and central committee members Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa, Katta Ramachandra Reddy and Ramdher.Basavaraju, Kosa and Katta Ramachandra Reddy were later killed by the counter-Naxal forces. The remaining leaders surrendered.