[What needs be keenly watched is the impact of Yechury's elevation on the prospects of building a broad fighting front to challenge the incumbent Modi regime and its anti-people policies.]
I/II. http://scroll.in/article/721863/Behind-the-scenes-at-CPI-M-meet:-Threat-of-a-ballot-won-the-day-for-Yechury NEW GENERAL SECRETARY Behind the scenes at CPI-M meet: Threat of a ballot won the day for Yechury Party's West Bengal unit threatened to break with tradition and force a secret ballot instead of having the general secretary voted in unanimously. Dhirendra K Jha Today · 08:07 am Late on Saturday, on the penultimate day of Communist Party of India-Marxist's congress in Vishakhapatnam, the powerful Kerala unit almost succeeded in blocking leader Sitaram Yechury's rise to power. Working in tandem, the chief of the Kerala's unit Pinarayi Vijayan and outgoing party general secretary Prakash Karat worked seemed set to win the CPI-M top slot for the candidate of their choice - S Ramachandran Pillai. But early on Sunday, their efforts crumbled as the Yechury camp - primarily the West Bengal unit - gave an indication that it would not let the Kerala lobby go uncontested and that it would press for a secret ballot to decide the next general secretary of the CPI-M. A secret ballot would not only have gone against the party's tradition of electing its general secretary unanimously, it would also have divided the Kerala party unit and probably ensured the defeat of the official candidate, according to a senior party leader. The threat worked. It forced Kerala lobby to back off, Pillai to withdraw from the fray and Karat to propose the name of his bête noire Yechury for the CPI-M's top post. Pillai then quickly seconded Yechury's candidature, apparently to ensure a semblance of unity in the party. Potential upset "A political upset for Karat would have been much more embarrassing had he not changed the side and proposed the name of Yechury," said the CPI-M leader, who is a member of the newly constituted central committee of the party. ***"Given the widespread resentment which became so much apparent during the deliberations of party congress, Yechury could easily have won against Pillai had there been a secret ballot. That would have given a mighty blow to Karat's image."*** [Emphasis added.] According to officials, the hectic backdoor political activity began when the outgoing politburo met on Saturday night to decide on the next general secretary but could not reach a consensus as the Kerala unit, the CPI-M's largest unit, and Karat backed Pillai for the post. However, the Bengal unit - despite being in a minority - wanted Yechury to be the party boss. Pillai's candidature had the backing of nearly two-thirds of outgoing politburo members, officials said. Hectic lobbying On Sunday, when the outgoing central committee began its meeting to finalise the list of new committee members, the Bengal lobby became active and showed its determination to break the party's 50-year-old tradition of electing general secretary unanimously. Then began hectic lobbying and intense negotiations. ***When it became clear that Pillai would not be able to get adequate numbers if there was a contest in the newly constituted central committee, Karat intervened and decided to propose the name of Yechury, officials said.*** [Emphasis added.] The open political clash between two powerful groups of the party that preceded the change of guard has left the CPI-M totally bruised. As it is, the two units of the party find themselves on contrasting political planes, especially with regard to the CPI-M's approach towards relations with the Congress party. The Kerala unit regards the Congress as enemy number one, but the CPI-M unit in West Bengal is less harsh because the grand old party is seen as the enemy of the Marxist party's enemy - the Trinamool Congress. The victory for Yechury after a bruising duel between Kerala and West Bengal units threatens to widen their differences. This is particularly so because it has come at a time when the two units are about to begin preparations for the next year's assembly elections in their respective states, which are having contrasting political realities. II. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/yechury-set-to-succeed-karat-as-pillai-pulls-out-of-race/99 NATION MONDAY, APR 20, 2015 CPM old order changes, new gen sec Sitaram Yechury talks of future Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat. Written by Ruhi Tewari | Visakhapatnam | Updated: April 20, 2015 10:14 am The new general secretary of the CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury, outlined the need to "strengthen the party's capacity to intervene" as a key challenge after he was elected to the top job following days of speculation and a rare, nail-biting finish. As the six-day party congress ended on Sunday, sources said that a consensus emerged on Yechury after the other frontrunner, S Ramachandran Pillai, withdrew from the race. Yechury, 62, is the fifth general secretary of the CPI(M), taking over from Prakash Karat who served three terms as the party head. READ: Sitaram Yechury's journey: From an activist to CPI(M) General Secretary The party has never held an election for the post of general secretary, who has always been picked through consensus. This time, uncertainty lingered over the position till the very end of the 21st party congress with both Yechury and Pillai refusing to rule themselves out overtly -- the party constitution provides for a secret ballot in case of voting. READ: Vasan greets Yechury on being elected CPI(M) General Secretary ***According to sources, what turned the tide in Yechury's favour was the pressure exerted on Sunday morning by a majority of delegates on members of the party's Central Committee (CC) from their respective states, after they realised that the politburo was tilted towards Pillai.*** [Emphasis added.] READ: Sitaram Yechury vs Ramachandran Pillai in race for CPM top job RELATED Sitaram Yechury's Journey: From An Activist To CPI(M) General Secretary All But Official: It's Sitaram Yechury Vs Ramachandran Pillai In Race For CPM Top Job The CPM's Flexible Networker And The Organisation Man In the morning session, Karat informed the outgoing CC that the politburo on Saturday night had considered the names of Yechury and Pillai and that a headcount favoured the latter. But then, some CC members from West Bengal are learnt to have insisted on a vote if needed, following which Karat advised Pillai to withdraw. READ: CPM shoots down move to make party 'younger' Party leaders pointed out that Yechury also enjoyed the advantage of age over Pillai, who is 15 years senior. Unlike Yechury, Pillai was not fluent in Hindi either, they added. [4 tweets by Ruhi Tewari] Speaking after the announcement, Karat said Yechury was elected "unanimously" by the new central committee after he, as outgoing general secretary, proposed Yechury's name. Soon after being declared the new party chief, Yechury said it was a "big responsibility" and that he would try to "correct the weaknesses" that had crept into the party. "This congress has come at a challenging time. If I had to characterise the 21st party congress, I would say it is a congress of the future, both for the party and the country... In all our party documents, the unmistakable conclusion is that the crisis in capitalism continues to deepen internationally and there is no solution for people to emerge out of the crisis except by strengthening the struggle for socialism," Yechury said. "We right now have not just a government headed by communal forces but a government headed by communal forces which is aggressively pursuing neoliberal policies," he added. Yechury also accused the NDA government of creating a "trimurti" of imperialism, communalism and neoliberalism which had to be replaced before it gets converted to a "trishul". "The objective situation at the global and domestic level now is right for the advancement of people's struggle for which we have to strengthen the subjective factor -- our political and organisational capacity to intervene," he said, adding the party now had to not only influence situations but overthrow the present class rule. "The motto of this party congress is we will fight, and we will win," Yechury said, adding later, "If there is any future for human civilisation, it is in socialism." Projecting a united front and dismissing speculation over differences within the party, especially over his election, Yechury said, "The strength of our party lies in collective functioning. That is the bedrock of our unity." V S is special invitee Kerala veteran and one of the founding members of CPI(M), V S Achuthanandan, was dropped from the new 91-member central committee and included as a special invitee instead. The 92-year-old was dropped due to the age factor, sources said, adding that the party has an unwritten rule that discourages those above 80 from being part of the central committee. Other veterans Mohammad Amin, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Nirupam Sen were also among those included as special invitees. Seventeen new faces were inducted into the panel. Ali 2nd woman in politburo The CPI(M) has elected a 16-member politburo with four new faces whose choice reflected the party's desire to correct the social and gender imbalance in its leadership. Apart from G Ramakrishnan, Hannan Mollah, Mohammad Salim and Subhashini Ali have been brought in, giving greater representation to the Muslim community -- Ali is the second woman after Brinda Karat to be in the current politburo. First Published on: April 20, 20154:27 am -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
