The logo for the 21st Party Congress of the CPI(M), beginning in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, says it all: a ship in choppy waters much like the party that is fighting to stay relevant after successive defeats in elections over the past six years.
As the party’s rank and file was heading for the port city on Sunday, the chatter was mainly about who would take the responsibility of steering the CPI(M) out of troubled waters.
Despite the fight for political survival, the post of general secretary, opening up after a decade under Prakash Karat, is not a settled matter yet.
Old-timers insist this is the first time this kind of suspense is prevailing over the change of guard so close to the Party Congress. “Usually, it is resolved by this time. There is a general perception over who would take charge and there are no surprises.”
This time, the question doing the rounds is whether Rajya Sabha member Sitaram Yechury, who seems to be the “obvious choice” for the outside world, would make it.
There is no official word on the succession, except that the Party Congress and the new Central Committee to be elected in Visakhapatnam will take the decision.
Another name doing the rounds is that of S. Ramachandran Pillai, a former member of the Rajya Sabha and 15 years older than Mr. Yechury.
A section of the Kerala unit is said to be backing his candidature.
Anticipation of a keen contest for general secretary has revived interest in the CPI(M), which, since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, has been getting very little media space. CPI(M) press conferences at its national office predominantly drew only the Kerala media with the West Bengal contingent keeping away, following the party’s negligible electoral presence in the State.
