India, May 21 -- Nambala Keshav Rao aka Basavaraju, the 70-year-old general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) killed in Wednesday's gunfight, had taken over the outfit's leadership in November 2018 when Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy stepped down on health grounds.

Basavaraju was killed along with 26 other Maoists in a fierce gunfight with security forces in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.

Union home minister Amit Shah confirmed the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao in a post on X, calling it a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate naxalism.

"Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security forces have neutralized 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraj...