Monday, April 11 2005 13:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prakash Karat was today (Apr 11, 2005) unanimously elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).

56-year-old Karat takes over from Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who at 89 years offered to step down from the post.

Karat's wife, Brinda, became the first woman entrant to the all-male Politburo of the party.

The election of Karat was announced at the closing session of the 6-day Congress in New Delhi.

91-year-old former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who had also expressed his desire to quit the Politburo, was retained in the Politburo along with Surjeet.

The new politburo comprises Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Jyoti Basu, Prakash Karat, V S Achuthanandan, S Ramachandran Pillai, Sitaram Yechury, R Umanath, M K Pandhe, Biman Basu, Anil Biswas, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Pinarai Vijayan and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Battacharya.

The four new members elected are Chittravratha Majumdar, K Varadarajan, B V Raghavulu and Brinda Karat.

85 members were also elected to the new Central Committee.

An organiser with strong ideological moorings

Described as a "hardliner", Prakash Karat, who took over the mantle from veteran freedom fighter Harkishan Singh Surjeet as CPM general secretary, is an organiser with strong ideological moorings and considered one of the prominent leaders of the party's think tank.

A former student leader, who was rusticated by the University of Edinburgh for leading an anti-apartheid protest action, enjoys an overwhelming support in the party as was reflected in his unanimous election at the conclusion of the 18th Party Congress.

The rustication was, however, kept in abeyance on grounds of his otherwise "good behaviour". He completed his MSc degree from the Edinburgh University in 1970.

Media shy 56-year old Karat has been looking after the party organisation and policy matters for the past couple of years under the leadership of Surjeet due to the latter's failing health.

Karat got the stamp of a "hardliner" after he and some other members in the Politburo and the Central Committee opposed CPM's so far only opportunity to get the top Prime Ministerial post. Jyoti Basu, whose chance of becoming Prime Minister in 1996 was foiled, later described the decision as "a historic blunder".

Behind the more recent decision of CPM not joining the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition Government at the Centre also, he had an important role.

Karat joined the CPM in 1970 and was groomed further by the legendary E M S Nabmoodiripad and worked as aide to another veteran A K Gopalan.

Karat worked underground for one-and-half years during the 1975-76 Emergency and was arrested twice for his political activities.

He graduated from the Madras Christian College. He joined the Jawaharlal Nehru University for advanced studies, when he was elected president of the Students' Union in 1972 and 1973 and, thereafter, headed the CPM mass organisation - the Students' Federation of India, from 1974 to 1979.

Karat was elected Secretary of the Delhi State Committee of the party in 1985 and to the Central Committee in 1985.

Seven years later, he was elected to the Politburo in which he continues even now.

Besides party activities, Karat is also the managing director of a leading leftwing publishing house, LeftWord Books and is a member of the editorial board of the CPM's theoretical journal 'The Marxist'.

He also has authored a book entitled 'Language, Nationality and Politics in India' in 1972 and edited several others.

He is married to leading women's activist and CPM Central Committee member Brinda Karat.