Veteran Left leader Sitaram Yechury passes away at 72

Former Rajya Sabha member and veteran Left leader Sitaram Yechury passed away at the age of 72 this evening at AIIMS, Delhi. He had been in critical condition for several days and was on respiratory support. Yechury had recently undergone cataract surgery.

“He was suffering from a respiratory tract infection which developed complications,” read a CPI (M) post on X.

With a political career spanning over five decades in the communist party, Yechury was a multifaceted leader known for uniting diverse ideologies.

PM Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and shared via X, "Saddened by the passing away of Shri Sitaram Yechury Ji. He was a leading light of the Left and was known for his ability to connect across the political spectrum. He also made a mark as an effective Parliamentarian. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this sad hour. Om Shanti."

Born in August 1952 in Chennai, Yechury graduated in Economics from St. Stephen’s College and pursued his MA at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where his political career took off. As JNU Students' Union President, he gained prominence by pushing Indira Gandhi to resign as the university chancellor.

A member of the CPI(M) since 1992, Yechury served as the party's general secretary since 2015. He was a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal from 2005 to 2017, renowned for his sharp political speeches that blended humour with historical insights. He did not seek a third term due to the party's internal cap.

Yechury played a pivotal role in drafting the Common Minimum Programme for both the United Front in 1996 and the UPA governments in 2004 and 2009, working alongside P. Chidambaram.

An advocate of coalition politics, Yechury was instrumental in building the UPA coalition in 2004 and, as general secretary, extended this coalition spirit to the CPI(M.), leading to an electoral alliance with Congress in West Bengal and breaking the party’s long-standing anti-Congress stance.

In 2021, Yechury's son, Ashish Yechury, passed away at the age of 34 during the second wave of Covid-19.