'Most-affected' Left-wing extremism-hit districts down to 3 from 6 in 7 months: MHA

New Delhi: Months ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline to fully eliminate armed Naxalism from the country, the Centre declared that the total number of Left-wing extremism-hit districts have fallen to just 11 from 18 in March 2025 and 126 in 2013, with the “most-affected districts” also down to three from six in the last seven months.

Hailing the “historic milestone in eliminating Naxalism” in a post on X, home minister Amit Shah said, “Under Modi ji's vision for a terror-free India, tireless counter-insurgency operations and people-centric development are shrinking the space of the left-wing extremists, leaving no place for them to hide. By March 31, 2026, India will be free from the menace of Naxalism”.

The home ministry in a separate statement said only Bijapur, Sukma and Narayanpur districts in Chhattisgarh are now most-affected by left wing extremism (LWE).

Andhra, Telangana latest states to be out of Naxal-affected list, says MHA

Kanker district in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra have been shifted from the list of districts “most affected” by Left-wing extremism to “affected” category after latest review by the home ministry.

The five remaining districts in “Naxal-affected” list are Gariyaband, Dantewada, and Mohalla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki in Chhattisgarh; Balaghat in MP; and Kandhamal in Odisha. Seven districts — Alluri Sitarama Raju in Andhra Pradesh, Kalahandi and Malkangiri in Odisha, Bhadradri-Kothagudem and Mulugu in Telangana, Latehar in Jharkhand, and Nuapada in Odisha — have been removed from the MHA list.

Andhra and Telangana are now out of the LWE-affected states. Earlier, in March 2025, Kerala (Wayanad & Kannur) and West Bengal (Jhargram) were also delisted.

Operational successes in 2025 have been record-breaking, with 312 LWE cadres killed — including the CPI (Maoist) general secretary and eight other politburo or central committee members. Another 836 cadres were arrested and 1,639 surrendered.

Modi govt’s National Action Plan against LWE — focused on intelligence-based ops, targeting leadership, development of infra, choking finances, and Centre-state coordination — has delivered major setbacks to the movement once dubbed India’s “biggest internal security challenge.”