The Hindu : National : Bardhan re-elected CPI general secretary

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Bardhan re-elected CPI general secretary

M. Rajeev

— Photo: P. V. Sivakumar

A.B. Bardhan at a rally in Hyderabad on Thursday.

HYDERABAD: A.B. Bardhan was on Thursday re-elected general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) for the fourth consecutive term at its 20th national Congress that concluded here on Thursday.

Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, MP, was elected deputy general secretary.

Mr. Bardhan, 82, said he was keen on making way for others but party leaders insisted that he continue as general secretary at this critical juncture when new developments were unfolding. It was, therefore, decided to nominate a deputy general secretary who could share his burden. Inderjit Gupta, N. Giri Prasad and Mr. Bardhan himself earlier held this post which exists in the party constitution.

Mr. Sudhakar Reddy (66), told reporters that the party would focus on its erstwhile strongholds such as Bihar and Jharkhand, besides working for a Left and democratic alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

The party elected a nine-member secretariat including D. Raja, Gurudas Dasgupta, Nandagopal Bhattacharjee, C. K. Chandrappan, Shameem Faizee, Atul Kumar Anjan and Amarjeet Kaur. A 31-member national executive, including five new faces, was also elected. Among them is Annie Raja, wife of Mr. Raja. Addressing a public meeting later, Mr. Bardhan said the UPA government could proceed with the nuclear deal with the U.S. only if it was prepared for polls.

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