Former Kerala Education Minister M.A. Baby has been elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at the party’s 24th All India Conference held in Madurai on Sunday. Baby, a veteran leader and former Rajya Sabha member (1986-1998), will now lead the party following the tenure of the late Sitaram Yechury.
The newly elected Central Committee of the CPI(M) consists of 85 members, with one vacancy, and includes 20 percent women members. “The CPIM 24th Party Congress has elected an 85-member Central Committee with one vacancy. The new Central Committee elected an 18-member Polit Bureau with Comrade M.A. Baby as the General Secretary,” the party announced in a post on X.
The #CPIM24th Party Congress has elected an 85-member Central Committee with one vacancy. The new Central Committee elected an 18-member Polit Bureau with Comrade M.A. Baby as the General Secretary. 20% of the Central Committee members are women.https://t.co/5jl2I9S36i
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) April 6, 2025
The position of General Secretary became vacant after the passing of Sitaram Yechury on September 12, 2023. Yechury, a towering figure in Indian left-wing politics, succumbed to a respiratory tract infection at AIIMS Hospital in Delhi. Following his demise, former General Secretary Prakash Karat stepped in as an interim coordinator until the party formally elected a new leader.
Sitaram Yechury’s Legacy
Yechury was a key strategist and one of the most influential Left leaders in the country. His sharp parliamentary interventions and ability to build alliances made him a formidable political figure. Having joined the CPI(M) in 1975, he was arrested during the Emergency for his political activism. He rose through the party ranks, becoming a Central Committee member in 1985 and later joining the Polit Bureau in 1992.
He served two terms in the Rajya Sabha from 2005 to 2017 and was recognized as an exceptional parliamentarian, receiving the Best Parliamentarian Award in 2017. Yechury was elected as CPI(M) General Secretary in 2015 during the party’s 21st Congress and held the position until his death.
