NEW DELHI: Veteran Left leader and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday at the age of 72 after battling a prolonged respiratory illness.
Yechury had been undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Delhi, where he was admitted to the ICU for a severe respiratory tract infection. His health had been deteriorating, and in recent days, he had been placed on respiratory support.
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Yechury’s political career spanned several decades, beginning in 1975 when he joined the CPI(M) after being an active member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). His political journey took a decisive turn during the Emergency, imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which saw Yechury arrested alongside other prominent leaders of the time.
Sitaram Yechury, one of the pillars of CPIM, pivot of Left-Cong-led UPA & husband of news portal The Wire editor Seema Chishti, passes away at 72.
The family had faced trauma in 2021 too when the couple’s son Ashish passed away at 35 while battling COVID.
RIP @SitaramYechury pic.twitter.com/agQHpLxbP4
— Rohan Dua (@rohanduaT02) September 12, 2024
A student of Delhi’s prestigious St. Stephen’s College and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Yechury was pursuing his PhD in Economics when the Emergency disrupted his academic career. He never completed his doctorate. Despite this, he remained deeply involved in student politics, becoming the president of the JNU Students’ Union three times.
Yechury rose to prominence under the mentorship of Harkishan Singh Surjeet, a senior CPI(M) leader known for his role in coalition politics during the National Front government of V P Singh and the United Front government in the late 1990s. He was also instrumental in the formation of the UPA coalition in 2004.
In 2015, Yechury succeeded Prakash Karat as the General Secretary of the CPI(M), taking on the leadership during a critical time for the Left in Indian politics. Karat, a lifelong comrade of Yechury, shared a deep bond with him since their days together at JNU.
FLASH: Veteran #CPI(M) leader #SitaramYechury dies at 72 after prolonged illness. pic.twitter.com/rNzJL4tl2x
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 12, 2024
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Yechury was also pivotal in the CPI(M)’s decision to withdraw support from the UPA-I government over the Indo-US nuclear deal, a move driven by ideological disagreements within the Left. “It was a matter of principle,” Yechury had said at the time, backing Karat’s hard stance.
He served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2005 to 2017, and remained a member of the CPI(M) Politburo for over three decades. His leadership was marked by his deep commitment to the party’s core values and his ability to navigate coalition politics.
In recent months, Yechury had been battling health issues, including a pneumonia-like infection and undergoing cataract surgery. Yechury’s death marks the end of an era for the CPI(M) and the Indian Left, with tributes pouring in from political leaders across the spectrum.