It was probably the most famous picture involving Sitaram Yechury.As the president of the JNU Students’ Union in October 1977, Yechury nonchalantly read out a chargesheet against Indira Gandhi seeking her resignation as JNU Chancellor. The Iron Lady of Indian politics had an amused, indulgent look, while standing by his side outside her residence. What could have gone through Yechury’s mind when the event in this iconic photograph was being captured? Asked this many years later, he was still for a moment, as if looking within. All one got was his classic smile that began with him wrinkling his eyes, before he got back once again to wearing the aura of a senior politician.Another Gandhi, another memory. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, campaigning in Wayanad was tricky for Sitaram. Congress had fielded Rahul Gandhi, ignoring opposition from CPI and the Left. All eyes were on Yechury, as he was known to be close to Rahul. Many doubted whether Yechury would actually campaign in Wayanad against Rahul. In a detailed hour-long interview with , during which my colleague Rajesh Abraham and I tried to corner him for his silence on Rahul, Yechury was visibly irritated. Later in the evening at the LDF convention, not only did he make a mention of this, but also pointedly asked why Rahul was contesting against the Left in the first place?One of the greatest Marxist leaders of our times, the three-time CPM general secretary had ideological commitment as well as practical wisdom. Affectionate and firm at the same time, Yechury did honestly embody both Sita and Ram, as in his name. Pragmatic to the core, Yechury knew how exactly a modern-day Marxist leader ought to take on communal forces. He had always batted for a vast alliance of secular forces to fight divisive, communal ideologies, but never at the cost of the mission diverting him from his Communist leanings. The 2016 Kerala assembly polls was in progress — his first major election, after taking over as general secretary. Without fail, Yechury would attend campaign meetings across the state. The Left Front convention was going on at the Putharikandam maidanam in the state capital. Every now and then, he would disappear for a few minutes. (A story below will explain the reason behind these disappearing acts.) I caught up with him behind the stage asking for an interview — his first during the 2016 polls.During an almost half-an-hour car journey, he took great pains to explain why the Left should come to power, why the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government mired in a slew of allegations — the solar scandal, bar bribery scam etc — should go. Noticeably, never once did he personally attack Oommen Chandy. Remember it was a time when his party colleagues were going all out indulging in spicy innuendos targeted at Chandy. Yes, he did dodge some pointed questions occasionally, like who would lead the party once the LDF comes to power — Pinarayi Vijayan or VS Achuthanandan. But everything else was by the book.As soon as the car came to a halt in front of the hotel, to my surprise, he jumped out and literally ran to an isolated corner, cleverly eluding the cameraman Deepu who was waiting to click his picture. I mistakenly assumed he was rushing to relieve himself, but no, he was only dying to take a puff!Keeping away from a smoke was not something Yechury ever did. “He would disappear in a whiff, just to take a puff. Two puffs would do for him. He would smoke, as if he was running out of breath. I still remember how a couple of us had to run around to get his favourite brand — Charminar — when he came to Kollam for the NGO union state conference. It was about 35 years ago. He had just been inducted into the Politburo,” recounted a CPM state committee member.A political leader who nurtured a personal warmth in all his relations, he had always been a warm host to me. On occasions when, knowing fully well there were bound to be uncomfortable political questions too, he would, albeit visibly reluctant, still agree to a short informal meeting over a cup of tea. Even when he found it difficult to reveal the actual reasons behind a current tricky political scenario or why a key decision was taken, he would never try to mislead on purpose.The CPM’s decision to not accept the Magsaysay award for former Kerala Health minister KK Shailaja was one such occasion. On the eve of ‘ report making headlines, I tried in vain to get in touch with him. But the very next day, he took great pains to explain why the party had taken a collective decision to not accept the award.A few weeks later during an hour-long evening meeting with him in the state capital, I once again broached the topic. Wasn’t it a foolish decision? Wouldn’t accepting the award have lifted the spirits of Left comrades across the country? Wasn’t it a global recognition for the strides Kerala had made in its anti-Covid fight? Personally, did you feel such a decision was right? – a barrage of questions fired at him.”You want black tea or milk tea,” was how he chose to first respond with that ever-ready smile of his. “Yaar, why do you guys have to term it a historical blunder? It sounds funny, nah? Let me explain to you something.. The CPI(M) has certain principles…” he went on elaborating at great length why the party had done what it did. Later on, I would learn from sources that it was indeed a collective decision. Just that, one of them did have a different view.May be, it was this personal warmth that prompted me to ask him about the passing away of his son Ashish Yechury due to Covid — a loss that had completely shattered him. I still remember the empty stare and the painful smile when a mention was made, almost a year after, at the CPM state conference in Kochi in 2022.My last lengthy interaction with him was during the recent Lok Sabha polls. A detailed interview was fixed on a Sunday morning, but got cancelled due to an unavoidable reason. I was naturally disappointed. A couple of hours later, I got a call from him, first apologising and then asking whether the interview could wait. I was more interested in the interview than the apology. “Can we meet today?” I asked. Pat came the reply: “How about 7.30 pm?” Being politically honest to the core is a virtue seldom practised by most politicians. Sitaram kept his word, more often than not, and even apologised when he couldn’t honour it once. The honesty with which he responded to political questions, even at the cost of inviting the wrath of his party colleagues, kept him distinct from many others. He wasn’t hesitant to admit that the party needed introspection, that too when a crucial election was around the corner. Having said that out loud, he didn’t, however, fail to put it across tactfully so as to not get the party in trouble.In his interaction with during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the veteran leader didn’t mince his words while responding to a query on an ongoing spat between Rahul Gandhi and Pinarayi Vjiayan. “It’s going to be counter-productive, even for them (Congress),” warned Yechury, in an apparent reminder to his own party colleague. Yechury was also not reluctant to admit the presence of an anti-incumbency factor and the need for the party to introspect on the same, “If indeed what you said was true,” he was quick to add with a smiling wink!A rare combination of an orator, strategist, ideologist, Yechury was a charismatic leader who could be a unifying force among like-minded parties. He was undoubtedly one of the most ‘timely’ leaders, the CPM had in the 21st century. His passing away is indeed a colossal loss that has put the Marxist Communist Party in a quandary of sorts. Who’ll now lead the CPM in its politically worst-ever period?
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