M A Baby to helm CPM, Karats exit Polit Bureau

Madurai: Senior leader and former Kerala minister Mariam Alexander Baby was on Sunday elected the new general secretary of the CPM, succeeding the late Sitaram Yechury, at the party's 24th Congress held in Madurai. Alongside the conference, CPIM also revealed a reshuffled Polit Bureau and an updated Central Committee.With this election, the 71-year-old Baby becomes only the second leader from Kerala to hold the party's top post after EMS Namboodiripad, Kerala's first chief minister. Baby held several prominent positions, including serving as Kerala's education minister from 2006 to 2011 and representing the party in the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998.His appointment drew praise from political allies, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin congratulating him and acknowledging his contributions to leftist politics. Stalin noted Baby's commitment to secularism, social justice, and federalism, emphasizing that his leadership will further strengthen ties between like-minded parties.Alongside Baby's election, the CPIM expanded its Polit Bureau from 17 to 18 members, ushering in a generational shift within the party. The new Polit Bureau features fresh faces while several senior leaders stepped down. The newly constituted body includes Pinarayi Vijayan, B V Raghavulu, Tapan Sen, Nilotpal Basu, Md Salim, A Vijayaraghavan, Ashok Dhawale, Ramchandra Dome, M V Govindan, Amra Ram, Vijoo Krishnan, Mariam Dhawale, U Vasuki, K Balakrishnan, Jitendra Choudhury, Srideep Bhattacharya, and Arun Kumar, in addition to Baby.The reshuffle resulted in the exit of some of the party's most prominent figures. Former General Secretary Prakash Karat, who briefly served as interim coordinator after Yechury's passing, was dropped from the Polit Bureau. Other senior leaders, including Brinda Karat, Manik Sarkar, Surjya Kanta Mishra, Subhashini Ali, and G Ramakrishnan, were also left out. However, party sources indicate that Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, and Manik Sarkar will be made special invitees to the Central Committee, allowing them to continue contributing to party affairs in an advisory role.The new faces in the Polit Bureau reflect the party's strategic shift towards younger leadership and grassroots mobilization. Among those inducted are U Vasuki, Vijoo Krishnan, Mariam Dhawale, Srideep Bhattacharya, Amra Ram, and K Balakrishnan, said sources in the party.In addition to changes in the Polit Bureau, the CPIM inducted several new leaders into its Central Committee. Some of the notable names include Anurag Saxena, H I Bhatt, Prem Chand, Sanjay Chauhan, K Prakash, T P Ramakrishnan, Puthalath Dineshan, Saleekha, Ajit Nawale, and Vinod Nikole. The Central Committee now comprises 85 members, with one seat still vacant.