Yechury: Amiable face of the Left

Polyglot, amiable and an eclectic conversationalist who could hold forth on film songs as much as politics, CPI-M's fifth general secretary Sitaram Yechury was the pragmatic leader with friends across the political spectrum.

The three-time party chiefwho passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), took over the reins of the party when Left fortunes were on the decline. He was 72.

Quite unlike his predecessor Prakash Karat, from whom he took over in April 2015 and who was known for hardline positions, Yechury thrived on the challenges of coalition politics. In this way, he was more akin to his mentor, the late party leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet.

While Surjeet was a key player in the coalition era during the National Front government of VP Singh - formed in 1989. and the United Front government of 1996-97, both supported from outside by the CPI-M, Yechury was the go to man in the UPA years from 2004-2014.