Namballa Keshava Rao, also known as Basav Raj, General Secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), was killed in an encounter in which 27 Maoist cadre died during a security operation in the Abujhmad forest, Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, on the morning of May 21.
This marks the first time in the history of the CPI (Maoist) that its General Secretary has been killed in an encounter. Rao is the second General Secretary after Charu Mazumdar to be killed by security forces.
Rao was born in Jiyyannapeta village, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. He studied in his native village, completed high school in Talagam, and pursued intermediate education at Tekkali Junior College.
His political activities began during his undergraduate studies at the Regional Engineering College in Warangal in 1973–74, where he helped establish the Radical Students Union (RSU). During the Emergency, he went underground and did not resurface. While underground in Warangal, he worked as a porter while organizing local laborers.
In 1980, Rao was assigned to lead the first Maoist squad into East Godavari district under the name “Ganganna.” He later became involved with the Dandakaranya movement, serving as secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. In 1986, he evaded arrest by security forces in Visakhapatnam. He remained underground until his death.
Rao held key roles in the CPI (Maoist)’s military strategy. He contributed to the formation of higher-level military formations in 1995, the People’s Guerrilla Army in 2000, and the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) in 2004. He trained squads across several states and participated in military operations.
He also played a major role in party consolidation. He was involved in the merger of the People's War Group with Party Unity in 1998 and with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) in 2004, leading to the formation of CPI (Maoist). He contributed to strategic decisions, including the establishment of guerrilla bases and local governance structures.
Rao became General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) in 2018 and served until his death at the age of 72. He was also a member of the Central Military Commission and the Politburo.
Critics of Rao’s leadership have noted shortcomings, including an overreliance on military strategy and an inability to fully integrate mass movements with armed struggle. There was also limited internal evaluation of the party’s recent setbacks.
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*Freelance journalist
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