Kolkata, January 8
At a three-day CPM central committee meeting, which began here today, some senior members discussed informally the issue of the successor of Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet as general secretary after the 18th party congress in April next in New Delhi.

In all likelihood, a Politburo member, Mr Prakash Karat, will succeed Mr Surjeet, though a section in the senior leadership, including Mr Surjeet and Mr Jyoti Basu, will have preference for Mr Sitaram Yechury.

Mr Yechury has been acting as the party’s main liaison with the Congress leadership, the UPA government and other Left parties in the wake of Mr Surjeet’s ill-health. He has been virtually acting as a de facto party secretary for some time.

Mr Surjeet, who has held the chair for over two decades, will step down after the party congress. According to a prominent member, Mr Jyoti Basu, Mr Sitaram Yechury, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and Mr Anil Biswas discussed the issue in the presence of Mr Surjeet. A final decision in this regard would be taken later.

The central committee meeting, which mainly dealt with the drafting of a political resolution to be presented at the forthcoming party congress, today reviewed the working of the Manmohan Singh government vis-à-vis Left parties relations with UPA partners.

Mr Yechury said they were displeased with the hike in prices of petroleum products and sugar. The UPA government should find ways to check the price hike.

He said the committee also discussed the party’s participation in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana.