CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Admitted to AIIMS, Condition Critical
Sitaram Yechury, the 72-year-old general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), is currently in critical condition and receiving respiratory support at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, as confirmed by the party on Tuesday. He has been placed in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to an acute respiratory tract infection.
Yechury was initially admitted to the hospital on August 19 for treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection. By August 31, CPI(M) issued an update stating that he was under the care of a multi-disciplinary team of specialist doctors, who are closely monitoring his critical condition.
Despite his health challenges, Yechury has remained engaged with political matters. He shared a six-minute video on August 22 addressing the passing of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya. The following day, he expressed solidarity among CPI(M), Congress, and National Conference members regarding the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. On August 29, he posted condolences for his close friend Abdul Ghafoor Noorani.
Yechury is not only a prominent political figure but also a seasoned leader who has contributed significantly to coalition politics in India. He played a key role in drafting the common minimum programme for the United Front government in 1996, collaborating with P. Chidambaram. His political journey includes notable moments such as his arrest during the Emergency in 1975 while a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he was later elected president of the JNU Students’ Union three times in 1977–78.
