THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M A Baby’s elevation to the top post was long expected. Yet his election was not without inner-party differences. A decade after the CPM witnessed a fierce contest for the secretary post at its 21st Congress in Visakhapatanam, the latest edition saw differences of opinion and challenges to the official proposal.
At the 16-member politburo meeting on Saturday night, it wasn’t an easy pass for Baby. Sources said as soon as Prakash Karat proposed Baby’s name, Ashok Dhawale proposed the name of West Bengal secretary Mohammed Salim, who promptly turned down the same. It is learnt that the Bengal faction — five PB members — were in favour of Dhawale. Apparently, Surjya Kanta Mishra, Salim, Nilotpal Basu, Tapan Sen, Ramachandra Dome, and Dhawale were not keen on Baby.
It has been pointed out that the attempt was to prevent Dhawale, the peasant leader who is more of an activist, from coming to the top. The Kerala unit initially supported Brinda Karat, with the required extension. But after opposition against age relaxation, the Kerala unit chose to stand with Baby.
