NEW DELHI: Left-wing extremism, which afflicts several states, has killed a whopping 14,689 people, including 11,742 civilians and 2,947 security personnel, since 1980.

However, the 4,638 fatal casualties on the Naxalites’ side were just one-third of the killings carried out by them over the last three decades.

The silver lining, however, is that the trends of Naxal violence are showing a steady decline in killings since 2010. As many as 198 civilians were done to death by Maoists in 2013 (until September 30), far lower than the 300 civilian killings during 2012.

Even the security personnel were better off in 2013, recording 88 fatal casualties as compared to 114 in 2012.

The number of Naxalites neutralized too fell from 74 last year to 52 until end of this September.

Maximum security personnel (317) were killed in 2009, while 2010, with 720 civilian killings, was the worst year for civilians.

Naxalites bore the brunt of counter-killings by the security forces in 1998, losing 296 cadres that year.

A major turnaround in Naxal violence was seen in the year 2001, when security personnel killings increased from a two-digit figure to three-digit figure.

Civilian killings witnessed a major jump in the year 1990 and have fallen from a high of 720 in 2010 to 198 till September 30 this year.

Though the Naxalites carried out a major attack in Darbha Ghati, Chhattisgarh, in May 2013, targeting a Congress convoy and killing at least three top party leaders and two dozen others, there has been a lull in their activities of late.

Officials say such a lull is not unusual during monsoon. However, with the poll scene hotting up in Chhattisgarh, the CPI(Maoist) is reportedly campaigning in the Bastar region asking the local tribals to boycott the election.

The Union home ministry fears landmine attacks, targeting of polling parties and Central para-military personnel as they access polling booths in Naxal-infested interiors, and firing attacks on choppers ahead of and during the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh scheduled for November 11. All Maoist-hit areas are going to polls during this phase.