The Sunday Coup: Inside Story of How Karat Made Way for Yechury

The Quint has the INSIDE STORY of how Sitaram Yechury overcame opposition to become CPI(M) leader.

Since its formation in 1964, there has never been uncertainty over succession in the CPI(M). Harkishan Singh Surjeet took over from EMS Namboodripad, and Prakash Karat took the baton from an aging Surjeet.

While there is a provision for an election through a secret ballot in case of a contest, it has never been exercised. Every CPI(M) General Secretary has been a ‘consensus’ candidate.

But this year has been different. Prakash Karat is still relatively young, his term is being cut short by a three term limit set in the last party congress. And Sitaram Yechury, the man who was all set to take over, was a rival, not a follower.

Factions Inside the Red Citadel

Sitaram Yechury was outnumbered in the Politburo (PB), which was filled with Karat supporters. The Bengal unit where he had some allies was outnumbered, especially as two senior leaders, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen, could not attend the Party Congress.

This greatly hurt Sitaram’s chances, even though sources within the CPI(M) say that both Bhattacharjee and Sen sent letters of support for Sitaram.

The dominant faction in the PB was behind Karat. That faction would include, of course, Karat’s wife Brinda; Kerala State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan; and his predecessor Pinarayi Vijayan.

And finally, Sitaram’s main contender SR Pillai, 14 years older than him, the man who had Karat’s blessings.

Why Karat Wanted Pillai

Why was Prakash Karat so keen on Pillai, despite the obvious preference within the Party for Sitaram? One source within the party claims the following reasons:

1. SR Pillai is known to be loyal to the Karats. With him at the helm, Karat’s influence would continue to run the CPI(M).

2. Pillai is not a young man and would probably have been a one-term leader. Who would replace him in three years? Sources within the party say that Pillai would have been a ‘placeholder’ for Brinda Karat, who could have taken over as party chief in three years.

3. For the next three years, Pillai would toe Prakash’s ‘independent’ line viz. focusing on Left unity rather than an alliance with the Congress or another third-front experiment.

Sitaram, on the other hand, has been waiting in the wings for a while. He is also a known Karat critic. Unlike Pillai, Yechury is a familiar face both inside and outside the CPI(M), a political pragmatist with a work style quite unlike Karat’s.

Conflict was inevitable.

Sunday Morning Intrigue

Ten years ago, Prakash Karat’s line would have found near unanimous support among the CPI(M) delegates at the Party Congress. But on Sunday, the last day of the Party Congress, they were ready for a change.

The Bengal faction bitterly recalled how it was Karat’s party line against the Indo-US nuclear deal, that led the Congress and TMC to form a united opposition in Bengal, that contributed the Left rout in Bengal. They were behind Yechury.

But Karat it seemed, was keen to fight it out. He was set to use his clout in the Politburo to ensure Pillai got the top job.

Sitaram too, sources say, was for a while inclined to let Pillai through, for the sake of party unity.

As late as Sunday morning, it seemed, the CPI(M) leadership question was settled. Just a minor face-lift, with Pillai coming in as a Karat ‘proxy’.

But pro-change elements within the party urged Sitaram to “go down fighting.” And fight he did.

Close to noon, Sitaram began pushing for a vote. A vote by secret ballot has never been conducted in the CPI(M)‘s history. Sitaram had called the Karat faction’s bluff.

Pillai withdrew his candidature. And as national media watched, Sitaram’s name, for the post of General Secretary of the CPI(M), was proposed by Karat himself, seconded by Pillai.

And Yechury became yet another ‘consensus candidate’.