Sitaram Yechury re-elected as CPI(M) general secretary

Hyderabad, Apr 22: After an intense tug-of-war, Sitaram Yechury was re-elected for a second term as general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), at the end of the five-day 22nd Party Congress here on Sunday.

“If there is any single message that should go from this 22nd Congress of the CPI(M) to the rank and file, to the country and particularly to our class enemies, it is that the CPI(M) has emerged as a united party…,” Mr. Yechury said in his 10-minute valedictory address.

Three months ago, on January 22, Mr. Yechury's political line to keep the door open for coordination with the main Opposition party, the Congress, was defeated 55-31 in the party's Central Committee (CC) held in Kolkata, forcing him to offer to resign.

But the Central Committee asked him to continue till the end of his term in April leaving the leadership question for the Party Congress, the highest decision-making body, to settle.