Telangana’s Tippiri Tirupathi alias Debuji is Maoist Party new General Secretary
Telangana Maoist Tippiri Tirupathi, alias Debuji, has been named the new General Secretary of CPI (Maoist), succeeding Nambala Keshav Rao. Tirupathi, a Dalit leader from Korutla, previously served as politburo member and led the Central Military Commission.
Kothagudem: The CPI (Maoist) Party, which suffered heavy losses this summer and lost its General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, has found his successor.
According to sources, a Maoist from Telangana, Tippiri Tirupathi alias Debuji (Devji) has been made the General Secretary replacing the position of slain Maoist Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraj, who was killed in an encounter along with 28 Maoists in Narayanpur forests on May 21.
Tirupathi, a Dalit, hails from Korutla in erstwhile Karimnagar district. He acted as the party’s politburo member and led the Central Military Commission. Similarly, the PLGA 1st Battalion of Commander Madvi Hidma alias Santosh has been made the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee secretary responsible for the party activities across the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh police came to know about the leadership change in the party after questioning Kamlesh, a Maoist Central Committee member who surrendered in Andhra Pradesh, after fleeing in October 2024 when 38 Maoists were killed in an encounter on Narayanpur and Dantewada borders. In late July this year, he surrendered his weapons to the AP police along with his wife Medaka.
It was said that along with Tirupathi, the other candidates who contended for the post was Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji’s brother Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi alias Vivek alias Abhay alias Sonu.
CPI (Maoist) former General Secretary Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi has been missing since 2019. Intelligence agencies of the Centre and various States were clueless about his survival. In this situation, Tirupathi, who belongs to the Madiga community, has become a more acceptable option as the General Secretary position instead of Telugu Brahmin leader Sonu, following intense deliberations at the top level.
Another reason why Sonu was not a choice for the position was that his wife and Dandakaranya Zonal Committee leader Bimala Chanda Sidam alias Tarakka surrendered to police earlier this year.
Tirupathi was said to have been attracted to the ideology of the Radical Student Union in 1983 while pursuing his degree. At that time, clashes between the ABVP and RSU student unions were common and police cases were registered against him. Tirupathi went underground in late 1983.
During the police interrogation, Kamlesh said that it was initially thought that Ramachandra Reddy alias Srinivas, the former head of the ‘Mobile Academic Political Organisation School’, would be given the charge of the Dandakaranya Zonal Committee. But due to his advanced age and health issues, he did not get the responsibility. The name of another Telangana leader Takkallapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Asanna was also discussed. But in the end, Hidma got the responsibility.
