The arrest of senior Communist Party of India (Maoist) Politburo member Misir Besra in Jharkhand marks the culmination of one of India’s longest counter-insurgency campaigns. For nearly four decades, Besra remained one of the organisation’s most influential leaders in the Jharkhand-Bihar region, surviving repeated security offensives even as the rest of the Maoist leadership was steadily eliminated through encounters, arrests, and surrenders. With his arrest, the CPI (Maoist) has effectively lost the last active member of the leadership that built the organisation into a nationwide insurgent force.Born into a Santhal Adivasi family in Madnadih village of Jharkhand’s Giridih district, Misir Besra studied in Dhanbad before completing graduation and postgraduation in political science at Rajganj. It was during the sociopolitical churn of the Jharkhand movement in the late 1980s that he was drawn to Maoist ideology. Leaving behind his young wife and family, he joined the Maoist Communist Centre, which later merged with the People’s War Group in 2004 to form the CPI (Maoist).Besra’s rise was driven by military success. Soon after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000, he was linked to a series of attacks on security forces, including the 2003 and 2004 IED ambushes in West Singhbhum’s Bitkilsoy and Baliba that killed 55 personnel. The attacks earned him a place in the Central Military Commission and charge of the Eastern Regional Bureau, making him one of the organisation’s most influential leaders in eastern India.Also read | Hunt for Misir Besra: He made a daring escape once, now last top Maoist standingFor years, security agencies knew little about the man behind these attacks until his arrest during a routine vehicle check in 2007. Two years later, he staged one of the country’s most audacious Maoist jailbreaks when around 30 armed cadres attacked a court complex in Bihar’s Lakhisarai, killing a policeman and freeing him.Besra remained underground for the next 17 years despite carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty and facing more than 150 criminal cases. Operating across Kolhan, Saranda, and later the Parasnath hills, he eventually became the last active face of the CPI (Maoist)’s central leadership.What does his arrest mean for the Maoist movement?Besra’s arrest completes the dismantling of the CPI (Maoist)’s central leadership that security agencies have pursued over the past two years. Unlike earlier phases of the anti-Maoist campaign, which largely targeted field commanders, the recent offensive focused on decapitating the organisation’s command structure.At the start of 2024, the Politburo and Central Committee together had 21 leaders directing military operations, recruitment, and strategy across the country. Over the next two years, 12 were killed, seven surrendered, and one was arrested. Besra, the only leader still underground, has now also been captured.Story continues below this adThe campaign went well beyond the top leadership. In the Dandakaranya region (spanning Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh) — the Maoists’ principal military theatre — the State Committee was virtually dismantled through killings, arrests, and surrenders. The Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh committee disappeared after its remaining three members surrendered, while Odisha and Telangana also lost their state leaderships. The Disturbed Region Bureau, which coordinated operations across several states, was similarly broken up.Also in Explained | How did India’s Maoist insurgency collapse, and can it rise again?Almost every nationally recognised Maoist leader has now either been killed or surrendered. General secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju and Battalion 1 commander Madvi Hidma were killed, while senior leaders including Mallojula Venugopal Rao (Sonu), Vasudev, Palluri Prasad Rao Chandna, Ramdev Manjhi Debu, and Thippiri Tirupathi (Devuji) surrendered.The leadership losses have coincided with sustained operational gains. Since 2024, more than 500 Maoists have been killed, security forces have penetrated long-inaccessible strongholds such as Abujhmad, demolished over 100 Maoist memorials, and expanded their presence in former guerrilla bases.With Besra’s arrest, the CPI (Maoist) is left with scattered armed groups led by lower-level commanders, but no nationally recognised leadership capable of directing a coordinated insurgency across states.Story continues below this adWhat kind of action has the government taken over the past two years?The collapse of the Maoist leadership has been driven by a sustained security offensive backed by a broader governance strategy. Security forces pushed deeper into strongholds such as Bastar and Abujhmad, established forward operating bases, improved road connectivity, and increasingly relied on intelligence-led operations instead of large-area combing exercises. Local forces, particularly Chhattisgarh’s District Reserve Guards, also eroded the Maoists’ long-held advantage in jungle warfare.Also read | Lessons from fighting Maoists for 14 years from Bastar’s top copAlongside military operations, the Centre expanded rehabilitation packages for surrendering cadres, offering financial assistance, housing, monthly stipends, skill development, and incentives for depositing weapons. The combined approach has sharply reduced the Maoists’ geographical footprint. According to government data, Left Wing Extremism-related violence has fallen by more than 80% since 2010, and by early 2026 only seven districts remained categorised as LWE-affected, three of them severely so.Can the movement survive without its leadership?The arrest of Besra does not automatically end Maoist violence. Small armed groups remain active, particularly in parts of Bastar, and could continue sporadic attacks or extortion. But security officials believe the CPI (Maoist) no longer possesses the leadership, territorial control, or organisational depth needed to regenerate itself as a nationwide insurgency. Roads, mobile connectivity and a stronger administrative presence have also reduced the isolation that once enabled the movement to flourish.Story continues below this adNewsletterFollow our daily newsletter so you never miss anything important. On Wednesday, we answer readers' questions.SubscribeFormer Maoist leaders and security experts argue that the organisation also failed to adapt to changing conditions. Even as surveillance improved, security forces established a permanent presence in former strongholds, and tribal aspirations shifted towards education, welfare, and employment, the CPI (Maoist) remained committed to a strategy centred on protracted armed struggle.What challenges does the government face?Security experts caution that eliminating the leadership is only one part of the challenge. The areas once dominated by Maoists continue to face problems of governance, infrastructure, and access to public services. They argue that security gains must now be consolidated by strengthening civil administration, ensuring schools and health centres function, improving roads and communications, and creating livelihood opportunities, particularly for tribal youth.The Maoist movement drew strength from regions where the state was absent or perceived as unjust. Sustaining the gains of the past two years will therefore depend as much on effective governance as on continued security operations.