Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
India

Sitaram Yechury, a stalwart of Left politics in India

Darpan News Desk IANS, 12 Sep, 2024 11:26 AM
  • Sitaram Yechury, a stalwart of Left politics in India

Hyderabad, Sep 12 (IANS) CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Thursday, was a stalwart of the Left politics in India, and also known for his personal relations with political adversaries.

Survived by his wife and journalist Seema Chishti, a son, and a daughter, he was 72.

Succeeding Prakash Karat as the CPI-M's General Secretary in 2015, he was re-elected for another term in 2018. A member of CPI-M Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party since 1992, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2005 to 2017.

An affable, soft-spoken and suave, Yechury was a polyglot with great oratory skills. He was known for his friendly nature towards his political rivals.

Yechury was born in Madras (Chennai) in a Telugu Brahmin family on August 12, 1952. His father Sarweshwar Somayajulu was an engineer in the Andhra Pradesh State Road Corporation while his mother Kalpakalam was a government officer.

Completing his school education in Hyderabad and his matriculation from the All Saints School. Later, he shifted to Delhi, where he completed his higher secondary education and did a B.A. in Economics from St. Stephen's College.

Yechury's political journey began when he was pursuing his M.A. at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. As President of the Students' Union, he was attracted to Marxist ideology and soon became a member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI-M.

After formally joining the CPI-M in 1975, he became an active politician, fighting against the Emergency and raising his voice for worker rights, land reforms, and a secular state.

He was just 32 when he was made a Central Committee member.

Initially known as one of the key faces of the anti-Congress Opposition Front, Yechury later emerged as an important figure in coalition-building efforts in national politics by bringing together various Janata Party factions to keep the Congress out.

He, along with other Marxist leaders, cobbled up an alliance to make H.D. Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal the Prime Minister in 1996, after the Congress could not get a majority. With P. Chidambaram, then in the Tamil Manila Congress of G.K. Moopanar, Yechury played a key role in the drafting of the Common Minimum Programme for the United Front government. He later helped I.K. Gujral become Deve Gowda's successor.

Yechury was once again a key face in 2004 when the Left bloc extended key outside support to the Congress-led UPA government led by PM Manmohan Singh based on a Common Minimum Programme.

He was in favour of friendly ties with Congress to keep the BJP out. Though the Left Front withdrew support to the UPA in 2008 over the India-US nuclear deal, Yechury was seen as a leader who advocated closer cooperation with the Congress.

In 2015, Yechury took over as CPI-M's General Secretary when the party was passing through challenging times after losing power in its stronghold West Bengal in 2011.

However, Yechury could not stop the slide in the CPI-M's political fortunes as the party also lost its citadel Tripura and though it created history by winning an unprecedented second term in Kerala in 2021, it was routed in the Lok Sabha polls in the state as well as erstwhile bastion West Bengal.

Ahead of the 2024 polls, he was also a key figure in the formation of the INDIA bloc.

 

MORE India ARTICLES

$8 bn market opportunity awaits India’s social enterprises by next year: Hardeep Puri

$8 bn market opportunity awaits India’s social enterprises by next year: Hardeep Puri
India’s social enterprises are witnessing rapid growth and the market opportunity and potential for them is estimated to be $8 billion by next year, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, has said. The minister emphasized that social enterprises have always been a vital part of the Indian life, significantly impacting sectors such as agriculture, health, and education.

$8 bn market opportunity awaits India’s social enterprises by next year: Hardeep Puri

Swami Vivekanand’s speech, 131 years ago, inspired PM Modi to embark on journey of self-discovery

Swami Vivekanand’s speech, 131 years ago, inspired PM Modi to embark on journey of self-discovery
As the nation celebrates the Digvijay Diwas, honouring the legacy of Swami Vivekanand and commemorating his historic speech in Chicago, here is a throwback on how his historic address, 131 years ago, inspired Narendra Modi to embark on a journey of self-discovery to the Himalayas. It was on September 11, 1893, that Swami Vivekanand delivered his timeless speech at the Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago.

Swami Vivekanand’s speech, 131 years ago, inspired PM Modi to embark on journey of self-discovery

RG Kar scam: Sandip Ghosh’s PA summoned to ED office

RG Kar scam: Sandip Ghosh’s PA summoned to ED office
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials probing the case of financial irregularities at state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, on Wednesday, summoned Prasun Chattopadhyay, the personal assistant (PA) of Sandip Ghosh, the former and controversial principal of the same college for questioning. Chattopadhyay has been asked to report to ED’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata in the second half on Wednesday only.

RG Kar scam: Sandip Ghosh’s PA summoned to ED office

AAP holds key to next govt formation in Haryana, says Raghav Chadha at Pawan Fauji's roadshow

AAP holds key to next govt formation in Haryana, says Raghav Chadha at Pawan Fauji's roadshow
With less than a month to go for single-phase polling in Haryana, the electioneering is reaching a feverish pitch with big faces of respective parties entering the poll fray and seeking support for their candidates.

AAP holds key to next govt formation in Haryana, says Raghav Chadha at Pawan Fauji's roadshow

Union Cabinet approves health coverage to all senior citizens above 70 under flagship scheme

Union Cabinet approves health coverage to all senior citizens above 70 under flagship scheme
The expansion of cover to senior citizens of the age of 70 and above was earlier announced by PM Modi in April 2024 during the launch of the BJP manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. According to a cabinet communique, all senior citizens, aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, would be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY. The eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card under the scheme.

Union Cabinet approves health coverage to all senior citizens above 70 under flagship scheme

LoP Gandhi trusts China more than Indian Generals: BJP

LoP Gandhi trusts China more than Indian Generals: BJP
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaking at the National Press Club in Washington DC in the US, on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over its handling of the border stand-off with China near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

LoP Gandhi trusts China more than Indian Generals: BJP

PrevNext