New Delhi: The CPI(M)’s triennial party congress will open on Wednesday in Hyderabad, staring at the big question whether present general secretary Sitaram Yechury will get a second term.
The question stems from the differences within the party. The party’s political line — cleared by the Central Committee in January, underlining no alliance or understanding with the Congress — was opposed by Mr. Yechury and a few others.
This year, party has received nearly 7,000 amendments to the draft political resolution, a sizeable number of which are on the political line. A politburo member said that the number of amendments are more than the usual. “There is definitely an increase in number of amendments this year. We will be placing them before the Central Committee tomorrow, which will finally pare it down. Some of these will be accepted,” a politburo member said.
Mr. Yechury is only the fifth general secretary of the party in the 54 years since it was formed in 1964. His immediate predecessor, Prakash Karat, was at the helm from 2005 to 2015. Before him, Harkishen Singh Surjeet had held the office for 13 years; and Surjeet’s predecessor, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, for 14. And EMS’s predecessor, the CPI(M)’s founding general secretary P. Sundarayya, was at the helm for an identical period.
But will Mr Yechury get a similar duration at the helm will only be answered on April 22. Party congress is the highest and the final forum to seal the political line of the party. The delegates at the congress too can ask for voting on the amendments they have moved and could force the party to temper down the line approved by the Central Committee. But if it doesn’t, then a popular question within the party is whether Mr. Yechury can steer a party when his political line is at loggerheads with most of the rank and file.
Mr. Yechury has clarified many times since January that the differences showed “inner party democracy” and that he was not the only general secretary in the history of the party to have a divergent view from the majority. Harkishen Singh Surjeet had backed Jyoti Basu for the post of the Prime Minister, but he continued as general secretary even after his proposal was rejected.
Names of other contenders for the post doing the rounds include that of former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and politburo members M.A. Baby and B.V. Raghavalu.
“All these are merely speculations. We have not discussed any names in the party. The decision will be made only on the last day of the party congress,” said senior leader S. Ramchandran Pillai.
