In the second half of 2020, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who died on Thursday, was at the EMS Academy on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala on a supposedly unannounced visit. He was to address a training session of party cadres at the academy.
But when he reached the academy, Yechury was surprised to see a crowd of journalists waiting for him. "This is an internal party event, not open to the media," he said in a friendly way.
A reporter then said: "But comrade when I messaged, you said you will meet me here at 2.30 pm." Yechury gave a quizzical look and then suddenly it seemed as if he remembered.
"Comrade, I was also told the same," a second reporter said. And then a third... And all of them, it turned out, was promised the 2.30pm slot. Yechury just stood smiling.
(A senior CPM leader had once said: "It's hard to decode Sitaram's smile. It can mean many things, except anger or hate. He could be trying to charm you or reassure you or convey a sense of disappointment or helplessness or even make fun of you.")
"Sorry. When one of you asked a few days ago, I couldn't refuse. I might have said 2.30 pm, I don't remember. And then another person called. How can I refuse him when I had already agreed to talk to another? And then more calls came and I said yes to all of them," Yechury said. Shaking his head, he added: "All your messages probably came to me on different days and so I was not aware that I was asking all of you to meet me at the same time. Sorry again."
He swung his gaze over the crowd, smiling still but seemingly a tad embarrassed, and said: "Come, let's do a quick press conference."
A top CPM source later said: "This is vintage Yechury. He has this congenital defect of wanting to make everyone feel special. So when each one of you called, he agreed to a one-on-one. Though he was absent minded, didn't his offer make each one of you feel good? And eventually, all of you got what you wanted, an interaction with the CPM general secretary."
Congress-CPM dilemma
In this accidental press conference, Yechury's political sagacity was also on show. It was a time when there was speculation that a section in the CPM, led by Yechury, was advocating for a national alliance with the Congress to keep the BJP out.
"Won't it be the end of the CPM in Kerala if the CPM general secretary himself insists on a coalition with Congress at the national level? Are you trying to destroy your own party," a reporter asked.
"Who told you I was insisting on anything," Yechury shot back. The easy smile was gone. "First try and understand how our party functions and then ask questions," he said.
After the interaction, Yechury pulled the journalist aside. "Keep in mind that it is not sensationalism that will take our country forward. We have to keep communal elements at bay, and for that people like you and parties like the CPM should act responsibly, with the larger interests of the nation in mind," the general secretary said.
Three years later, Yechury demonstrated how. He managed to convince his party, even the powerful Kerala unit led by Pinarayi Vijayan, that it was important for the CPM to get into a loose alliance of secular-minded parties that included the Congress.
Least offensive strategy
He proposed a plan that would least provoke the Kerala unit, which had never fully accepted Yechury. He told the Kerala CPM to change nothing, to treat the Congress party like it always has, as its worst enemy. But comrades in other states, including in West Bengal and Tripura, were told to go for any kind of understanding, tactical or tacit or even open, with the Congress.
Yechury had to fend off sharp ideological posers in party forums. Here was one of the barbs. "What will happen to the fight against capitalists, our class enemies, if we are seen cosying up to the Congress?" The CPM had always said that the Congress represented the class interests of the capitalists.
Yechury was not rattled. He told comrades at all levels in the party that there was a time when the corporates had used the Congress for their ends. "Now, in this changed political situation, the Congress is no more the agent of capitalists. Their work is now getting done through the BJP. Our primary concern now is to keep the fascists out, safeguard our Constitution and keep the country's secular fabric intact," he used to tell comrades. "He was very convincing," a senior CPM leader said.
EMS’s surprise
This leader recalled that just before the Lok Sabha elections he had asked Yechury whether EMS Namboodirippad, his mentor, would have approved of INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). "Comrade said EMS would have egged him on to forge such an alliance," the leader said.
"He also told me that EMS had always attempted to make use of the contradictions of 'bourgeoisie democracy' to advance the Communist movement. From outside, it might have looked like compromise, he told me. But it was not," the leader said.
It was in 1984, during EMS's tenure as the CPM general secretary, that Yechury was inducted into the Central Committee of the party. He was only 32. The young man, who was doing his PhD in economics at that time, felt intimidated.
"I don’t think I deserve this. I am not competent enough. Please reconsider," the young man told EMS. The big man looked up from his desk and famously said: "You see, the Communist party functions on the principle of democratic centralism, and this means decisions are taken by the higher committees. You can of course give your opinion. But if you do not implement this decision, then disciplinary action would follow."
Eight years later, when he was 40, he was nominated to the highest CPM body, the Politburo. And then, nearly a quarter century later in 2015, Yechury stepped into the shoes of his mentor.
Twisted group equations
However, as general secretary, his links with the Kerala unit was fragile. Pinarayi has always kept Yechury at arm's length. This suspicion was the fallout of the infighting in the CPM.
Yechury has never kept his fondness for V S Achuthanandan a secret. At the height of CPM groupism, between 2000 and 2011, Yechury was VS's man in the CPM Politburo.
"All the letters and notes that VS wrote to the party, on issues ranging from the Lavalin deal to ideological deviations within the party were first given to Yechury. It was comrade Yechury who submitted this before the PB," a CPM state committee member said.
Interestingly, Yechury became the party general secretary in 2015, a time when age had weakened Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan was steadily gaining full control of the CPM in Kerala.
This, however, does not reflect any change in personal equations but is only an indication of Yechury's political acumen. The Kerala unit was stiffly opposed to him but Yechury ensured that the rest of the CPM state units in the country, including Bengal, backed him.
And despite Pinarayi's authority within the party growing to absolute levels, Yechury remained unchallenged till his death.