Close X
Monday, November 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

Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' to chart through Gujarat's tribal belt on March 7

Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' to chart through Gujarat's tribal belt on March 7
The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', spearheaded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is set to pass through the tribal corridors of Gujarat after entering the state on March 7. Scheduled to enter the state through Jhalod in Dahod district on March 7, the Yatra aims to cover a strategic path through Gujarat's eastern tribal belt.

Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' to chart through Gujarat's tribal belt on March 7

Jaishankar's Korea visit: A further step to enhance ties with diaspora

Jaishankar's Korea visit: A further step to enhance ties with diaspora
Continuing with his endeavours to further cement India's relations with its diaspora, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to meet the small but significant Indian community in the Republic of Korea as he begins his first visit to Seoul on March 5. While one is well aware of the Korea-based Indian actor Anupam Tripathi who became a household name after 'Squid Games', the nation is home to around 15,000 Indians with many professionals contributing to the country's IT, shipping, and automobile sectors.

Jaishankar's Korea visit: A further step to enhance ties with diaspora

Smuggled snake venom worth Rs 5 crore seized in North Bengal, 3 arrested

Smuggled snake venom worth Rs 5 crore seized in North Bengal, 3 arrested
Four kilograms of smuggled snake venom worth Rs 5 crore was seized in North Bengal late on Tuesday night. Three persons were arrested for smuggling following a joint operation by the West Bengal Forest Department and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, near Siliguri, in the northern sector of West Bengal.  

Smuggled snake venom worth Rs 5 crore seized in North Bengal, 3 arrested

Development projects worth thousands of crores sanctioned for TN in last 10 years: PM Modi

Development projects worth thousands of crores sanctioned for TN in last 10 years: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that development projects worth thousands of crores of rupees have been sanctioned for Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years since the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre. He said that several genuine demands of the people of Tamil Nadu that had remained just dreams for decades during the previous United Progressive Alliance's regime have started becoming reality over the last 10 years.  

Development projects worth thousands of crores sanctioned for TN in last 10 years: PM Modi

Kisan Congress takes out rally in Hyderabad in support of agitating farmers

Kisan Congress takes out rally in Hyderabad in support of agitating farmers
The Kisan Congress Cell organised a rally in Hyderabad on Wednesday in support of the farmers protesting near Delhi to demand a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). The Telangana unit of Kisan Congress cell took out a rally from L.B. Stadium in the heart of the city to Indira Gandhi statue at Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake.

Kisan Congress takes out rally in Hyderabad in support of agitating farmers

Gurugram Police nab 7 cyber fraudsters accused of duping people of Rs 20.28cr

Gurugram Police nab 7 cyber fraudsters accused of duping people of Rs 20.28cr
The Gurugram Police have arrested seven cyber fraudsters including a minor and a woman for allegedly duping people across the country of Rs 20.28 crore, an official said. The arrested individuals have been identified as Deepmala, Satpal, Suresh, Jai Prakash, Mohammed Murshid, and Nazakat Ali.

Gurugram Police nab 7 cyber fraudsters accused of duping people of Rs 20.28cr