THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was the unrelenting stand of members from Kerala that influenced the CPM central committee decision to rule out a third term for party general secretary Sitaram Yechury in the Rajya Sabha.While party West Bengal unit pitched for a third term for Yechury, the Kerala unit made it categorically clear taking Congress support was against the political and tactical line adopted by the Party Congress. Right from the outset, all eyes were on the Kerala unit. The Kerala members felt the party general secretary will not be able to handle other responsibilities simultaneously.
A majority of the Politburo and Central Committee members from Kerala, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, supported the Prakash Karat camp which argued the party cannot compromise on the responsibilities of the general secretary. However, veteran leader V S Achuthanandan was in favour of fielding Yechury.
West Bengal concerns
CPM’s West Bengal unit was of the view denying another term for Yechury could put the party in a quandary in West Bengal. The Congress was mulling to field former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who lost the presidential polls, to Rajya Sabha from Bengal. The Congress felt the CPM may not oppose her candidature as they had backed her in the presidential polls.
“The question was whether to accept Congress’ support or support the Congress. In between, the Tripura CPM took a different view. Though Manik Sarkar was not fully against allowing Yechury to contest, he was dead against taking Congress support. He felt the general secretary can be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala if needed,” said sources.
Parliamentary ambitions
In a way, the Yechury episode also brought out one of the biggest ironies of the CPM as a political party. The CPM was formed in 1964 by 32 comrades, who walked out of the Communist Party national council opposing the political lines adopted by the CPI. An accusation raised against the CPI was of harbouring parliamentary ambitions.
“In the recent political history, we have come across at least three instances where parliamentary ambitions initiated lengthy debates within the CPM. First, it was the ‘mistake’ of not letting a senior leader take the mantle of Prime Ministership. Next, the party’s Central Committee had to expel another leader for continuing as Lok Sabha Speaker. Now, the never-ending debates over allowing party general secretary to contest to the Rajya Sabha have stimulated another debate. If one cannot be given more than two terms, there’s no need for such a debate at all,” said a Left leader on condition of anonymity.