Yechury denied third term in RS

NEW DELHI: The C PI( M) on Tuesday denied its general secretary Sitaram Yechury an unprecedented third term in the Raj ya S ab hat he even as the West Bengal unit vehemently supported his candidature.

There is a general rule in the party that no leader will be given morethantwotermsintheRS.In the age-old turf war between the Kerala and the West Ben gal lobby of the party, Yechury stood defeated as Kerala chief minister Pin arayi Vi jay an, party’ s former general secretary Pr aka sh Karat and other leaders from the southern state opposed the proposal of sending Yechury to the Upper House, where he played a major role in the Opposition camp, with the support of the Congress.

Sources said that in the Central Committee meeting, Vi jay an maintained that if the Left had bee nina position, Yechury’s candidature could have been considered. Leaders from Tripura also batted for Yechury.

The West Bengal leadership argued that during UP A rule too, Kerala CPI(M) didn’t suffer even as the party gave outside support to the Congress-led government.

“The proposal to send Yechury hasbeen negated.We will talk to Congress to field a common candidate,” said a senior leader.

Six seats from West Bengal, including that of Yechury, will face election soon.

Trina moo l Congress may win five seats and the CPI(M) can retain its slot, with Congress support. The Congress, willing to support Yech-ury, refrained from announcing its candidate from Bengal.