The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has re-categorised the total number of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts in the country replacing the earlier classification of “most affected” with “LWE affected,” “districts of concern” and “legacy and thrust districts.”
While the number of districts in the LWE category remains unchanged at 38 compared to 2024–25, the classification now reflects shifts in the severity of violence reported in these areas. The red corridor has significantly contracted – from over 200 districts in 2005 to just two in 2026 – and its definition has also been revised.
The new world of surrendered left-wing extremists
On March 27, three days before Home Minister Amit Shah declared in Lok Sabha that the country is now “Naxal-free,” the Ministry reviewed the “categorisation of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism” and sent the fresh list to the Home Secretaries and Director-General of Police (DGP) of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal.
While Bijapur in Chattisgarh and West Singbhum in Jharkhand are the only two districts that have been characterised as “LWE affected”, Kanker in Chhattisgarh is a “district of concern” and there are 35 other “legacy and thrust districts” across nine States.
