Hyderabad: Veteran communist leader Sitaram Yechury has been unanimously elected as the CPM’s general secretary for a second term on Sunday. He will continue in this post for three years. The 65-year old Yechury’s election was announced on the last day of the CPM's National Convention being held in the city.
His election was approved by the Left party's newly-elected 95-member Central Comm-ittee. From Telangana, four leaders made it to the Central Committee, who include Tammineni Veerabhadram, Veeraiah, Nagaiah and Cherupalli Seetharamulu.
The party also endorsed its political resolution paving way for an “understanding” with the Congress for the 2019 elections. After the elections, Mr Yechury said that his main task is to defeat the BJP and the RSS by bringing all secular and democratic forces together. Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar announced his election.
Mr Sarkar said Yechury, 65, was elected by a 95-member new Central Committee, which also elected a 17-member new Politburo.
“Yechury's election was unanimous. There was no contest,” Mr Sarkar told Yechury, who has been a member of the CPM since 1974 when he joined its student wing, was first elected the CPM General Secretary in 2015.
Re-elected to the top post a year ahead of the general elections in 2019, Mr Yechury said the CPM's first goal was to oust the BJP-RSS Modi government.
In his address to the party delegates from across the country, he assured them that he would try to fulfil the immense responsibility of this office to the best of his capability.
The five-day conclave saw the groups led by Yechury and former General Secretary Prakash Karat agreeing to amendments in the draft political resolution.
The resolution, while ruling out a political alliance with the Congress party, made it clear that it was ready for an understanding with that party. It reiterated that its first and foremost goal was to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The CPM, the largest party of the Left, has faced electoral reverses in West Bengal and more recently in Tripura. It is now in power in only Kerala.
