Permutations and combinations

The 21st party congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or the CPI(M), which was kicked off in Visakhapatnam yesterday, will elect a new central committee of the party, which will, in turn, elect the politburo and a new general secretary. Incumbent Prakash Karat has served three terms of three years each. That the CPI(M) is divided into Bengal and Kerala camps that support Sitaram Yechury and Karat respectively, is no secret. Most expect Yechury, a couple of years junior to Karat at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and who happens to be the most recognisable face of the party, to succeed Karat. Some in the party, however, have started talking about how the Karat camp, which includes influential Kerala politician Pinarayi Vijayan, might spring a surprise by drumming up support for its candidate, 77-year-old S Ramachandran Pillai. They say Pillai would serve his three-year term and bow out in 2018 in favour of politburo member and Karat's wife, Brinda Karat.