Yechury second time CPM general secretary, only two Telugu comrades dissent

HYDERABAD: The Communist Party of India-Marxist elected Sitaram Yechury as its general secretary for a second term at the party's 22nd national congress here on Sunday.
Yechury's re-election, though expected after his political line was adopted by the party congress earlier, was not an easy one. It came after months of internal warring on whether or not to have an "understanding" with the Congress among other secular, democratic forces.

Yechury's candidature was decided through a show of hands in the newly-elected 95-member central committee. Insiders said that even though several names were being discussed as Yechury's successor in the run-up to the polls, all but two members of the central committee - one each from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana - expressed reservation towards his re-election. The voices in support, however, heavily outnumbered the notes of dissent. Presidium chair Manik Sarkar confirmed that there was no contest in Yechury's re-election.

Many believe Yechury's reaffirmation, both in CPM's leadership role and of his political line ahead of the 2019 general elections, have given him a decisive edge over the Kerala lobby within the party. CPM insiders said while the re-election was seen as marking the defeat of the Karat-Pinarayi axis - the dominant Kerala faction - most leaders felt a sense of "relief" that the meet had ended without an "untoward or unpleasant" episode.

It also appeared to be a mild edge for the West Bengal unit, which also gained strength in numbers in the newly-elected politburo. Former MPs Nilotpal Basu and Tapan Kumar Sen were inducted in place of outgoing trade union leader A K Padmanabhan.

That a truce had been reached, albeit a temporary one, also seemed apparent in Yechury's assertion that all was well within the party. In his opening speech after being re-elected, he said, "Our unity is even more steeled and our determination stronger than before." He also spoke disparagingly of the "media" that showed the party as divided.

A day earlier, politburo member Brinda Karat had attempted to underplay the victory of Yechury's 'minority view' on Congress over Karat's 'majority view', saying the party had only agreed to "redraft the disputed paragraphs" and the political resolution agreed upon was a "fresh draft".