Kolkata, Sep 29 (IANS): After the sudden demise of the CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury earlier this month, the party will now function through the collective leadership of the exiting politburo with Yechury’s predecessor Prakash Karat acting as the “politburo coordinator.”

The next permanent General Secretary will be selected at the next party congress scheduled to be held at Madurai in Tamil Nadu in April next year.

A decision to function through collective leadership of the existing politburo was made at the party’s politburo meeting on Saturday. On Monday, the party’s central committee cleared that proposal and also selected Karat as the “politburo coordinator” during the interim period till the next party congress.

“The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) now in session in New Delhi, has decided that Comrade Prakash Karat will be the coordinator of the politburo and the central committee, as an interim arrangement until the 24th Party Congress to be held in April 2025 at Madurai. This decision was taken due to the sad and sudden demise of the sitting General Secretary of the CPI-M, Comrade Sitaram Yechury,” a statement issued by the party on Sunday afternoon read.

As per the party's constitution, any decision of the party politburo is subject to the final clearance of the central committee.

On Saturday only, a politburo member from West Bengal pointed out that the party's constitution does not allow having the post of a ‘working general secretary’. “There is nothing called ‘interim’ in our party. The new central committee and the politburo will be selected at the next party Congress in Madurai next year. There only the new party General Secretary will be selected,” he said.

Yechury was the first existing General Secretary to die before the end of his term. He was supposed to be replaced at the Madurai party congress as he would have completed his third term in office.