Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The Politburo, also known as the Polit Bureau or the Political Bureau, is the executive authority of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). Its members are elected by the Central Committee, which is in turn elected at the Party Congress, typically convened every three years.

Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Information
General Secretary	Vacant
Elected by	Central Committee
Responsible to	Central Committee
Parent	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Seats	17
Meeting place
AKG Bhawan, Delhi

History

Throughout its history, the Politburo has experienced periods of dissent and factionalism, resulting in internal crackdowns and purges. For instance, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, a co-founder of CPI(M) and four-term general secretary, conducted a series of purges within the Politburo and the Central Committee, to combat supposed "bourgeois parliamentary mentality".^[1]

Functions and composition

Elections

The All-India Party Congress, typically convened every three years, serves as the supreme authority of the CPI(M).^[2] Between sessions of the Party Congress, the Central Committee functions as the highest decision-making body.^[2] The Central Committee elects a Politburo from among its members, including the General Secretary, who is the party's principal leader.^[2]

Functions

The Politburo functions as the executive body responsible for carrying out the work of the Central Committee between its sessions. It has the authority to make political and organisational decisions in the period between two meetings of the Central Committee.^[2] Additionally, the Politburo oversees the Central Secretariat, which manages the party's day-to-day operations and assists in the implementation of decisions taken by the Central Committee.^[2]

Current composition

The 23rd Politburo was elected at the 23rd Party Congress, held in Kannur, Kerala, from 6 to 10 April 2022. Sitaram Yechury was re-elected for a third term as general secretary of the CPI(M).^[3][4] Ram Chandra Dome became the first-ever Dalit^[a] member of the Politburo.^[4][5]

Following Yechury's death on 12 September 2024,^[6][7] Prakash Karat was appointed Interim Coordinator, effective from 29 September 2024 until the 24th Party Congress, scheduled for April 2025.^[8][9] Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, another member of the 23rd Politburo, had previously passed away on 1 October 2022.^[10]

Portrait	Name	State/Union Territory	Politburo Member Since (Year)
	Prakash Karat (Interim Party Coordinator)	New Delhi	1992
	Pinarayi Vijayan Chief Minister of Kerala	Kerala	2002
	Brinda Karat	New Delhi	2005
	Manik Sarkar Former Chief Minister of Tripura	Tripura	1998
	M. A. Baby	Kerala	2012
	Surjya Kanta Mishra	West Bengal	2012
	Mohammed Salim	West Bengal	2015
	Subhashini Ali	Uttar Pradesh	2015
	B. V. Raghavulu	Andhra Pradesh	2005
	G. Ramakrishnan	Tamil Nadu	2015
	Tapan Kumar Sen	West Bengal	2018
	Nilotpal Basu	West Bengal	2018
	Ram Chandra Dome	West Bengal	2022
	A. Vijayaraghavan	Kerala	2022
	Ashok Dhawale	Maharashtra	2022

List of Party Congresses

Congress	Date	Location	Elected Secretary	Ref.
24th	2 – 6 April 2025	Madurai, Tamil Nadu	TBD	[citation needed]
23rd	6 – 10 April 2022	Kannur, Kerala	Sitaram Yechury	[4][11]
22rd	18 – 22 April 2018	Hyderabad, Telangana	Sitaram Yechury	[12]
21st	April 2015	Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh	Sitaram Yechury	[13]
20th	April 2012	Calicut, Kerala	Prakash Karat	[citation needed]
19th	29 March – 3 April 2008	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu	Prakash Karat	[14]
18th	6 – 11 April 2005	New Delhi, Delhi	Prakash Karat	[14][15]
17th	19 – 24 March 2002	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh	Harkishan Singh Surjeet	[14]
16th	5 – 11 October 1998	Calcutta, West Bengal	Harkishan Singh Surjeet	[14]
15th	3 – 8 April 1995	Chandigarh, Punjab	Harkishan Singh Surjeet	[14]
14th	3 – 9 January 1992	Madras, Tamil Nadu	Harkishan Singh Surjeet	[14]
13th	27 December 1988 - 1 January 1989	Trivandrum, Kerala	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	[14]
12th	25 – 29 December 1985	Calcutta, West Bengal	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	[14]
11th	26 – 31 January 1982	Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	[14]
10th	2 – 8 April 1978	Jalandar, Punjab	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	[16][14]
9th	27 June – 2 July 1972	Madurai, Tamil Nadu	Puchalapalli Sundarayya	[14]
8th	23 – 29 December 1968	Cochin, Kerala	Puchalapalli Sundarayya	[14]
7th	31 October – 7 November 1964	Calcutta, West Bengal	Puchalapalli Sundarayya	[14]

See also

• All India Congress Committee
• National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party