Within one month of that election, the Government of India declared the CPI (Maoist) as a designated terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

[10] A few months later Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the Maoists pose the biggest internal threat to India's security and their activities had intensified over the previous years.

[11] The insurgency points to the commercial development and industrialization in forest regions that are home to India's tribal communities, resulting in loss of land or livelihood as justification for its activities.

In response to the growing insurgency, Indian paramilitary forces launched a large-scale offensive, popularly known as Operation Green Hunt, against the rebels along the red corridor which includes the Dantewada district.

In 2006, The Economist noted that Naxalite-Maoist insurgency is "most intense" in the Dantewada district and linked the popularity of the Maoists among the local populace to the region's lack of development.

In September 2009, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) personnel and state police forces killed about 30 Maoist rebels in Dantewada during an intense gun-battle.

[17] India's home minister P Chidambaram said that it appeared that the forces had "walked" into a rebel ambush by returning to the police base via the same route they had come.

[18] The attacks were seen as a setback for efforts to clear the eastern regions of the Naxals in order to open up areas rich in iron, coal, bauxite, and manganese to investment.