Ahead of Mar 31 deadline to end LWE, Shah to review Maoist situation in Raipur

Raipur: Union home minister Amit Shah will be soon attending a high-stakes anti-Maoist review meeting here, with Centre's Mar 31, 2026, deadline for eliminating Left-wing extremism (LWE) in India drawing close. He would also be making a culture stop in Bastar during his Feb 7-9 Chhattisgarh tour, to attend the closing ceremony Bastar Pandum Mahotsav, a community-centric festival celebrating tribal traditions, folk arts and indigenous lifestyles. Shah will arrive in Raipur on Saturday evening and will hold a meeting with top officials. On Sunday, Shah will chair the key LWE security review meeting in Naya Raipur, which officials are viewing as one of the final major assessments before the March-end timeline. Senior officers from Chhattisgarh police, Central forces and intelligence agencies are expected to attend. Later in the day, Shah is scheduled to attend a national conclave titled ‘Chhattisgarh@25: Shifting the Lens.' On Feb 9, Shah is slated to head to Bastar for the Bastar Pandum Mahotsav 2026 closing ceremony in Jagdalpur. The security review is likely to take stock of ground operations, intelligence inputs and operational progress across Maoist-affected regions, including areas linked to Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Odisha, with a special focus on the Bastar division, where counter-insurgency deployments and search operations have intensified in past months. Officials indicated the latest review could help shape the final-phase strategy ahead of the Mar 31 deadline and may be followed by a push to step up operations in vulnerable pockets. Shah's Chhattisgarh visit comes two months after his last trip, when he attended the 60th DGP-IGP conference from Nov 28 to 30. Sources said he could make a visit to interior Bastar to take on-ground feedback from field commanders and deployed personnel. Bastar Pandum enters divisional stage with record participation The divisional-level events of Bastar Pandum 2026, pitched by the state govt as a community-centric festival celebrating tribal traditions, folk arts and indigenous lifestyles. The divisional competitions span 12 traditional cultural disciplines — including tribal dance, theatre, folk music, crafts and indigenous cuisine. This year's edition has recorded 54,745 registrations. About 84 teams selected from district competitions and 705 artists are set to perform over three days. The largest contingent is in tribal dance (192 artists), followed by tribal theatre (134 performers). Around 65 artists will showcase traditional musical instruments, while 56 participants will feature in tribal cuisine and beverage presentations.