Sitaram Yechury: Tributes pour in as leader of India’s largest communist party dies at 72

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Sitaram Yechury, the leader of India’s largest communist party, died on Thursday. He was 72.

Top politicians from across parties and ideologies paid glowing tributes to the departed leader, remembering him for his unwavering commitment to secularism and his ability to connect with the public.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, hailed Yechury as the "protector of the idea of India" while prime minister Narendra Modi appreciated his "ability to connect across the political spectrum".

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal whose Trinamool Congress party has long been an arch rival of the communists, called his death a loss for national politics.

Sonia Gandhi, the matriarch of the main opposition Congress party, recalled her decades-long friendship with Yechury and praised his commitment to India’s constitutional values and his “fierce determination” to protect its diversity and secularism.

Yechury was admitted to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences earlier last month with pneumonia and later shifted to the Intensive Care Unit, where he died at 3.05pm on Thursday.

The veteran leftist’s passing has left a void in Indian politics, not least because of his ability to forge alliances and navigate coalition politics. He had served as general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) since April 2015, succeeding Prakash Karat.

Yechury was born in the southern city of Chennai and educated in Delhi.

His political journey began about 50 years ago at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was pursuing doctoral studies in economics when then prime minister Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975, leading to his arrest along with other student leaders. Although his PhD went unfinished, Yechury’s political career gained momentum.

After the Emergency was lifted in 1977, Yechury’s leadership skills shone through as he was elected president of the university’s student union three times.

A pivotal moment in his nascent political career came when he led a student protest against Gandhi, who had retained her position as the university’s chancellor despite losing her prime ministership and even her seat in the parliament in the 1977 election. When Gandhi emerged to meet the student protesters, Yechury read out their demands in her presence.

“There were 500 of us. Her aide told us that only five of us can go in to meet her. But when we insisted, she herself came out. We read out our resolution against her which was full of litanies, but she heard stoically. I handed over the resolution to her and she took it politely too,” Yechury later recalled in an interview with The Hindu. “Couple of days later, she resigned."

The successful protest catapulted Yechury to prominence in the ranks of his communist party and set him on the path to its leadership.

In later years, he formed an alliance with Gandhi’s daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi, who had come to head the Congress party, particularly after she led a broad coalition to power in 2004.

He was the first non-Congress leader that Ms Gandhi approached for support after she surprisingly declined the premiership and backed her party colleague Manmohan Singh for the position.

After Yechury’s passing, Ms Gandhi said: “He was, of course, a lifelong communist but that faith was anchored in democratic values. Indeed, his twelve-year stint in parliament was memorable and left his indelible mark. He played a pivotal role in UPA 1 and more recently contributed enormously to the emergence of the INDIA group in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”

Her son, Rahul Gandhi, called Yechury a friend and “a protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country”.

“I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief,” Mr Gandhi said.

Mr Modi said he was “deeply saddened by the loss” of Yechury, describing him as “a towering figure of the Left who built bridges across the political divide with his exceptional ability to connect with others”.

“He left an indelible mark as a skilled parliamentarian. My heartfelt thoughts are with his family, friends, and admirers during this difficult time. May he rest in peace."

President Droupadi Murmu praised  Yechury’s “distinct and influential voice”. “Though a committed ideologue, he won friends cutting across the party lines,” she said in her condolence message.

Yechury’s party said the death of its general secretary was a significant loss for leftist, democratic and secular forces in India.

It described him as an exceptional leader of the Left movement and a renowned Marxist ideologue. "We dip the red banner in his memory and call upon all party members to unite and work tirelessly towards our shared goal of an exploitation-free society, the best tribute to his legacy,” the party said in a statement.

Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong remembered Yechury as "a steadfast Marxist and a long-standing friend of China".

The late leader’s significant contributions to fostering “China-India relations and friendship will be cherished and remembered forever”, he added.

Federal minister Nitin Gadkari of the ruling BJP said Mr Yechury’s "contributions to public life will always be remembered".

Ms Banerjee said she was “sad to know that Sri Sitaram Yechury has passed away”.

“I knew the veteran parliamentarian that he was and his demise will be a loss for national politics," the West Bengal chief minister said.

Yechury is survived by his wife Seema Chishti and their two children Akhila and Danish. An older son from his first wife, Ashish Yechury, died from Covid in 2021.

Yechury donated his body to AIIMS for teaching and research purposes, the hospital announced.