Basavaraju was trained by LTTE in jungle warfare, military tactics and IED use

The Hindu

21-05-2025

The killing of Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday (May 21, 2025) is the biggest strike that the security forces, a combination of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG), can claim in recent times.
The news was a bolt from the blue for many who sympathised with the movement. Basavaraju had been elusive since he joined the movement after completing his B.Tech. from the Regional Engineering College (now NIT), Warangal, in 1980.
Earlier, he had multiple close shaves in exchanges of fire with the security forces. At least two times, there were references that he had been killed in encounters.
Basavaraju figured in the National Investigation Agency's most wanted list with a reward of around ₹1.5 crore.
He became the general secretary of the party after Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathi, paved the way for him on November 10, 2018. Before that, he was the chief of the party's Central Military Commission, the main fighting force of the Maoists.
Known for his daredevil attitude, security analysts say he was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was trained by the LTTE leaders in jungle warfare, military tactics, and use of improvised explosive devices.
He had launched a project to teach Maoists the making of shoulder-fired rocket launchers, though they were rudimentary and technically failed.
Basavaraju led many operations, including the attack on the CRPF camp in Dantewada in which 76 personnel were killed in 2010, the Jeeram Ghati attack in which 27 people, including former Minister Mahendra Karma, were killed, and the killing of Kidari Sarveswara Rao, TDP MLA, and former MLA Siveri Soma near Araku valley in the now Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh in 2018.
After he took over as chief of the CMC and then as general secretary, the Maoists increased their offensive in Chhattisgarh.
Former Maoists say the six-foot-tall Basavraju had an imposing personality with a deep voice. He would carry a 9mm pistol, an AK-47, and communication devices. Basavraju was a man of action, they say.
He had never been arrested except for one instance in 1979, when he was held for a clash between the Radical Students Union and RSS members at REC, Warangal, causing the death of a student. He was later released on conditional bail.
According to H.J. Dora, former Director-General of Police of Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju was once caught by the police in Visakhapatnam in the early 1980s, when he was disguised as an Ayyappa Deeksha devotee. However, he managed to escape.
Early life
Basavraju was born on July 10, 1955, in Jiyannapet in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
He was drawn towards the Marxist-Leninist ideology since his engineering days. He joined the CPI(ML) People's War, led by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, in 1980.
He was also an active member of the RSU, which is now banned. His active participation with the Naxalite movement started in Visakhapatnam.
Foray into Visakhapatnam
His active participation with the Naxalite movement started in Visakhapatnam. Basavaraju, along with Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, who was killed in July 2010, established the Rythu Coolie Sangham. He had focused on the tribal areas of now ASR district.
From 1980 to 1987, he worked in various capacities in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari district under the East Division.
After the expulsion of Kondapalli from the party, he was drafted into the Central Committee of the CPI (ML) PWG, which later became CPI (Maoist) with the merger of PWG and MCC (Maoist Communist Centre), in 2004. He had played a key role in the merger and was the main strategist behind the idea of making the 'Red Corridor' and 'Janatana Sarkar' (People's Government) in Chhattisgarh.
In 2001, he became a member of Politburo and the chief of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
Meanwhile, his family members at Jiyannapet were not sure whether the body of Basavraj would be brought to his native village.