CPM has exit plans for not just Jyoti Basu but even Surjeet

Though the party said that the new central committee—which would be elected over the next five days—will decide whether the two leaders be allowed to retire, it was clear that the party was finally reconciling itself to the fact that it cannot expect these nonagenarians to attend politburo meetings regularly any longer.

And Surjeet’s stepping down would clear the decks for a takeover by a new generation of leaders with senior members of the existing politburo, Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, in the forefront. Karat, according to insiders, has long held the edge and is likely to be anointed Surjeet’s successor as the party’s new general secretary.

Of course, given the style of CPM’s functioning, that should not viewed simplistically as a setback for Yechury. It is common knowledge that even in the outgoing Politburo there was an unstated hierarchy.

Though decisions were often taken in the name of Surjeet, a much smaller oligarchy than the entire 16-member politburo comprising the likes of Karat and Yechury, actually charted out every course of action. Such collective leadership would continue as before. Karat’s elevation is not necessarily going to mean a strain in the relationship between the two.

In fact, for the first time, the CPM today officially admitted that not just former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu but even Surjeet had expressed his wish to bow out. Both have been complaining of ill-health. Yechury told reporters that both men subscribe to Communism and ‘‘are therefore scientific and are aware that they cannot fight with the process of aging’’.

Yechury said that both have wanted to be relieved from their politburo membership. While arguing that it was for the party to decide, he insisted that even after sixty years they were still in a position to contribute and ‘‘if we want their intervention in anything it would be still possible for us to approach them.’’ There was a hint that they could be accommodated in some other capacity even if they cease to be politburo members.

The CPM has, however, decided to openly acknowledge the contribution of both. And at this party congress, Surjeet and Basu will be accorded the status of ‘‘living legend’’. Yechury said that many in the party feel that they are ‘‘already living legends’’. For a party feeling confident after having won so many seats alone in the last Lok Sabha, gratitude to some of the veterans who have done all the groundwork is being considered essential.

In a way, according such a status to Basu and Surjeet may also be interpreted as an open acknowledgement of their leading the party towards the path of moderation and pragmatism. Senior politburo members and Kerala-based leaders like E. Balanandan and V S Achuthanandan who have clung to the hardline for decades are not going to be felicitated in the same manner. Yechury, however, did speak of the tradition of collective leadership in the CPM. He agreed how A K Gopalan had complemented the contribution of E M S Namboodiripad and how Pramode Dasgupta and Jyoti Basu had worked together in West Bengal.