Security agencies have warned of possible Maoist attacks in the lead-up to next month’s elections in Chhattisgarh, saying political leaders especially from the ruling BJP needed to stay alert while campaigning in rebel stronghold Bastar.

The alert, sources in the Union home ministry said, has suggested that the Maoists had recently set up training camps for ground workers.

“The latest intelligence alert has suggested that Madvi Hidma, the most wanted Maoist commander in south Bastar, is personally overseeing the training of the ground workers in Bastar. They are planning big attacks ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled on November 12 and November 20 and are likely to target political leaders and security personnel,” a ministry official said.

CRPF sources said Hidma, 37, had plotted all the major attacks on security forces since 2013, including last year’s massacre of 25 personnel of the paramilitary force in Sukma and 12 in Dantewada where the rebels used villagers as human shields.

“He is diminutive in physique, ruthless, runs a network of dedicated informers in all the seven affected districts of Chhattisgarh and coordinates with local commanders,” a CRPF official said. “His presence in Bastar is giving us sleepless nights.”

Bastar has been the focus in an ongoing all-out security offensive against the insurgents in the seven districts, the others being Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Sukma, Kondagaon and Dantewada.

The local administration has only a skeletal presence in all these districts. “They (the rebels) have local support in these liberated zones as they have gained legitimacy by resolving local disputes,” the home ministry official said.

Following the latest alert, the Centre has instructed security personnel not to carry out operations at night to minimise collateral damage.

“The inputs have pointed out that the rebels are planning to use innocent villagers as human shields during encounters. Top officials of the security forces have been asked to retool their strategy to ensure innocent lives are not lost. Any collateral damage would backfire on the BJP government in the state,” the home ministry official said.

“The officials have been instructed to cordon off an area at night in populated zones and carry out the offensive only after dawn to check collateral damage.”

Sources said the intelligence alert has warned that the Maoists are planning to plant landmines on certain routes to cause extensive damage to security personnel during the poll.

The Centre has of late been miffed at the poor intelligence gathering in Chhattisgarh, where dense forests and hilly terrain make it difficult for agents on the ground.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh had asked intelligence agencies to pull up their socks after the 37 CRPF jawans were ambushed last year. Nine personnel were killed this year when the rebels blew up their mine-protected vehicles in Sukma.