Sitaram Yechury CPM general secretary, vows merger with CPI

Thiruvananthapuram/ Vishakhapatnam: Sitaram Yechury, the newly-elected general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has said that his party would soon merge with the Communist Party of India. "Merger is still on cards," the 62-year-old leader told reporters after his elevation on Sunday.

“There is no time-frame.... But we are trying for the merger to happen at the earliest. It may take two months or six months. But it will happen definitely and that is our determination and also promise”.

Mr Yechury was elected as the fifth general secretary following a series of dramatic developments in the run-up to the crucial election at the 21st party Congress which concluded in Visakhapatnam.

S Ramachandran Pillai, whose name was proposed by outgoing general secretary Prakash Karat at the three hour marathon meeting of the politburo on Saturday, backed out when Mr Yechury received the full support of powerful West Bengal members including Biman Bose and the Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar.

Despite enjoying the edge in politburo, especially due to Kerala unit’s backing, ahead of the new Central Committee (CC) meeting Mr Pillai informed Mr Karat that he was not prepared for a contest and his name need not be proposed before the new panel.

It made things easier for the central leadership. When the new CC met at 12.30 pm, Mr Karat proposed Mr Yechury’s name which was seconded by Mr Pillai and unanimously adopted by the new committee.

Though Mr Pillai tried to send across the message that he wanted to avoid elections, with majority CC members and state units backing Mr Yechury the Kerala leader knew that he could lose by a massive margin.

Such a defeat would have not only embarrassed Mr Karat but also caused sharp divisions in the CPM, something which the leadership cannot afford at this crucial juncture.

The party’s new CC has 91 members, besides five special invitees and as many permanent invitees. Veteran leaders V.S. Achuthanandan, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Nirupam Sen were dropped from the CC.

The new committee elected 16 politburo members, including two women — Brinda Karat and Subhashini Ali.

Mr Yechury said the new position was a very big responsibility. “We have taken important decisions in the Congress and now the party will have to collectively implement these decisions,” he said.

When asked about the dramatic developments in the run-up to his election, Mr Yechury said, “We have a vibrant inner party democracy. On the basis of that we have taken the decisions that we have taken.”

Mr Karat denied any differences in the party over the election. “There was no confusion in the party. The confusion was only in the media. We took just two hours to discuss and take decisions unanimously,” he said.

He said the Congress had decided a new political line and elected a new leadership and the entire party would now move unitedly to implement the tasks laid down at the meet.

Unlike 2005 Delhi party Congress when it was known weeks ahead that Mr Karat would be the unanimous choice to replace Harkishan Singh Surjeet as general secretary, the names of  Mr Yechury and Mr Pillai started doing the rounds right from the beginning of the six day conference.

Senior leaders who backed Mr Yechury said the young face should lead the party. The powerful Kerala unit led by Pinarayi Vijayan batted for Mr Pillai, arguing that since the veteran leader had just three years left in CC, he should be given one term.

But Yechury supporters rejected the proposal saying there was no such “practice in the party of offering single term to any individual.

Mr Yechury while addressing the delegates after his election termed the 21st party Congress as the Congress of change.