The Union home ministry on Wednesday said that the number of districts affected by “Left-wing extremism” has come down to 11 from 18 in March.

In 2013, 126 districts across different states had reported “Naxal-related violence”, the ministry said in a statement.

In 2025, the number of “most affected” districts has also come down from six to three, it added. These are Bijapur, Sukma and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh.

The statement came on a day when Mallojula Venugopal Rao , alias Bhupathi, a central committee member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Along with Bhupathi, who carried a reward of Rs 6 crore on his head, 60 suspected Maoists also surrendered to security

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