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CPM to lose its best voice in RS, denies 3rd RS term to Sitaram Yechury

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9 years ago

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CPM to lose its best voice in RS, denies 3rd RS term to Yechury

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Struggling for political survival, Bengal and Kerala factions of the party fail to rise above their internal squabbles

By Puneet Nicholas Yadav

On Tuesday, after a prolonged debate among its senior leadership at the two-day-long Central Committee meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury – who is also the party’s chief and the Left Front’s most prolific and cogent speaker in Parliament – was denied a third re-nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

Sources within the senior CPM leadership confirmed that it was the Kerala faction of the party – led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and with the backing of former party general secretary Prakash Karat – that queered the pitch for Yechury’s re-entry to the Upper House. Former Kerala chief minister, VS Achuthanandan, who in April 2015 was instrumental in getting Yechury elected as the party chief despite opposition from the Kerala faction, too could not help defeat the Vijayan-Karat lobby this time.

To be fair, Yechury had himself never officially demanded a third term. On the contrary, he had made it clear that he would not violate the party’s norm of not giving any member more than two terms in the Rajya Sabha. But then, the Bengal faction of the party – which is known for its allegiance to Yechury and an equal contempt for the Karat-Kerala party axis – had for over two months been pressing for breaking with the party norm and re-nominating the general secretary to the Upper House, given the major challenges that the Left parties face today: from the Narendra Modi-led BJP at the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in Bengal.

For a party that has for long had an internal discourse of political pragmatism and tactical decision-making, the denial of a Rajya Sabha berth to Yechury comes as arguably the third biggest political blunder in Left politics. The first being their collective decision of disallowing then West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu from becoming Prime Minister in 1996 of a broad anti-BJP coalition and then, a little over a decade later, under the leadership of Yechury’s predecessor, Prakash Karat, of withdrawing support to the Congress-led UPA-I government of Dr Manmohan Singh in the aftermath of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal.

At a time when the Left parties in general, and CPM in particular, are facing their most grave fight for survival, not allowing the combined Left Front’s most prolific and cogent orator – who enjoys the respect and admiration of parliamentarians cutting across party lines – to re-enter Rajya Sabha as an MP, is certain to cost the CPM-Left narrative very dear.

A senior party leader who also supported a third term for Yechury said: “those who opposed his nomination to the Rajya Sabha either do not realize the cost of their action or have knowingly put the party in a far more perilous political spot than breaking the 2-term norm would ever have”.

Another party leader explained: “The CPM today needs to have a leader who can not only put the party’s stand on crucial issues coherently on the floor of Parliament but also reach out to other like-minded parties to build a strong narrative to counter the BJP-NDA combine. Yechury is that man but unfortunately internal feuds and ambitions of a few leaders prevailed over pragmatism at the CC meet.”

It is widely known now that Vijayan categorically rejected the Bengal faction’s plea for giving Yechury a third term and rallied the Karat/Kerala faction against the proposal. In an interview to the Indian Express, even before the CC had taken its final decision, Vijayan gave two key reasons for not allowing Yechury to be re-nominated: first, that the party was averse to taking the Congress’ support in Bengal assembly to ensure Yechury’s victory in the RS poll due in August and second, that since Yechury is party general secretary he would not be able to give his full attention to the role if he continued to be a parliamentarian.

Vijayan’s rationale sounds more hypocritical than pragmatic, say those who supported a third term for Yechury. “It is known that in Kerala, Congress has been our principal political rival but then in Bengal we fought the last assembly polls in an alliance. In Parliament too, the Congress and Left parties have stood together on a wide array of issues to counter the Modi government. So this argument of not taking the Congress’ support for Yechury’s election is flawed to begin with. Secondly, Yechury has been the party chief and an MP for over two years and has discharged both roles with equal dedication so what has changed now?” said a senior CPM leader.

For the Left, the absence of Yechury from Rajya Sabha would no doubt come at a heavy price. The Congress, which was set to support Yechury in the RS polls, is not likely to support any other Left candidate from Bengal. It seems to have made and received positive overtures from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress for nominating Meira Kumar – as a reward for standing in the Presidential polls against BJP nominee Ram Nath Kovind and losing with the lowest margin in nearly five decades – to Rajya Sabha from Bengal. The Left is set to not only lose its best speaker in Parliament but also a seat that it could have easily won if it had allowed Yechury to contest.

Indications from both Kerala and Bengal are that the BJP is on an upswing in both the states that have hitherto been the only surviving bastions of Left politics (though Bengal has been lost since Banerjee’s victory and the north-eastern state of Tripura sadly doesn’t give the CPM any political heft at a national level).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kharge, Rahul Gandhi skip Independence Day event for 2nd straight year

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort for the second consecutive year.

Published

24 hours ago

on

August 15, 2026

By

Rahul Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi skipped the 80th Independence Day celebrations at Delhi’s Red Fort for the second consecutive year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Independence Day celebrations at the historic venue on Saturday.

The absence of the two senior Congress leaders comes amid strained relations between the ruling party and the Opposition, which further deteriorated during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that concluded on Thursday.

2024 seating controversy

Rahul Gandhi had attended the Independence Day celebrations in 2024 but his seating arrangement triggered a controversy. The Congress leader, who holds the status of a Cabinet minister as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was seated in the second-last row during the ceremony at the Red Fort.

The Opposition had criticised the seating arrangement, calling it an insult to the people. The Defence Ministry, which organised the event, said the arrangement had been modified to accommodate Olympians at the venue.

According to protocol, the Leader of the Opposition is seated in the front row during ceremonial events.

Opposition-ruling party tensions

Relations between the government and the Opposition remained tense during the Monsoon Session, which ended on Thursday.

The session saw repeated clashes between the two sides, with both the Opposition and the ruling party blaming each other for the low productivity of Parliament.

The session began on July 20, with students marching towards Parliament on the first day. Twelve bills were passed during the session, while detailed discussion took place on only one legislation, concerning paper leaks.

The Congress, along with the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party, also boycotted the customary tea party hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after the House was adjourned sine die.

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Assam BJP leader Bikash Dhar found dead, 5 arrested for murder

BJP leader Bikash Dhar, 52, was found dead in an abandoned house in Assam’s Sribhumi district after being reported missing on August 12. Police have arrested five people in connection with the alleged murder.

Published

2 days ago

on

August 14, 2026

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A 52-year-old BJP leader who had been missing for two days was found dead in Assam’s Sribhumi district on Friday, with police alleging that he was murdered.

Bikash Dhar, a resident of Chagalmowa village under Bazaricherra police station, was found dead inside an abandoned house in the Yogicherra area near the Tripura border on Friday morning.

Dhar’s family had filed a missing complaint on August 12 after he left home following a phone call.

According to his son Madan Dhar, Bikash left around 1 pm after saying that he had to attend an emergency meeting. When he did not return and his phone was switched off, the family began searching for him and later approached the police.

Five arrested in murder case

Sribhumi Superintendent of Police Leena Doley said an investigation was launched after the missing complaint was received. The probe was conducted under the supervision of the Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime).

Police said five people have been arrested in connection with the alleged murder. They were identified as Abdul Salam, Sifat Ali, Abdul Ahad, Saiful Ali and Badrul Haque.

According to the police, interrogation of Abdul Salam revealed that the accused had an enmity with Dhar. Police alleged that the group killed him and dumped his body near a water body.

Another person, identified as Sunam Miya, was named during the investigation and reportedly fled to Tripura on the night of the incident.

Police find injury and cut marks on body

Police said injury and cut marks were found on Dhar’s body, and a murder case has been registered.

During the recovery of the alleged weapon, police said accused Badrul Haque attempted to escape from custody. A police constable was injured during the incident.

Police said they fired at Haque’s leg to prevent him from escaping, resulting in a bullet wound.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Dhar’s death and the alleged involvement of the accused is underway.

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Karnataka Cabinet clears public property bill amid RSS registration row

Karnataka Cabinet approves a Bill to regulate the use of government premises and public property amid a political row over RSS registration.

Published

2 days ago

on

August 14, 2026

By

Priyank Kharge

The Karnataka Cabinet has approved a proposed law to regulate the use of government premises and public property in the state, amid an ongoing political debate over the registration and use of public spaces by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Karnataka Regulation of Use of Government Premises and Public Property Bill, 2026 was cleared by the Cabinet, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said after the meeting.

According to the government, the proposed legislation aims to establish a legal framework governing the use of government lands, buildings, playgrounds, parks, roads and other public assets by private individuals, organisations, associations and societies.

Kharge said the objective was to prevent unauthorised use and misuse of public property while ensuring that such assets are protected for public benefit.

What the Karnataka public property bill proposes

The proposed legislation is expected to lay down procedures for obtaining permission to use government property for events, meetings and other activities.

It also proposes provisions for penalties in cases involving misuse of government premises or damage to public property, according to officials.

The government is expected to introduce the Bill in the Karnataka legislature, where it will be taken up for discussion and passage.

Priyank Kharge denies Bill targets RSS

The proposed legislation comes against the backdrop of a row involving the RSS and its use of public property in Karnataka.

Kharge, however, rejected speculation that the Bill had been framed specifically against the RSS or any other organisation. He said the government did not have a particular institution, association, organisation, society, club, union, syndicate or NGO in mind.

The issue has been part of a wider political debate since 2025, with Kharge opposing the use of government premises and public property by the RSS and calling for the organisation to register formally.

In June, Kharge also wrote to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking clarity on the organisation’s legal status, financial transparency and constitutional accountability.

The development is likely to keep the debate over the use of public property and the legal status of organisations in Karnataka in focus as the proposed legislation moves to the state legislature.

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