Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary, is currently in critical condition and receiving respiratory support at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Hospital, according to a statement released by his party on Tuesday.
The 72-year-old politician is in the intensive care unit (ICU) and is being treated for an acute respiratory tract infection, the party said in a statement. “He is on respiratory support. A multi-disciplinary team of doctors is closely monitoring his condition, which is critical at this time,” it said.
“A multi-disciplinary team of doctors is closely monitoring his condition, which is critical at this time,” the party added. He had been admitted to the hospital on August 19 for the treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection. However, in an update on August 31, the CPI(M) released a statement saying that Sitaram Yechury was being treated for a respiratory issue by a team of specialist doctors.
Earlier, the leader showed a positive response to treatment but was under observation. On Thursday, it was reported that Sitaram Yechury was shifted to the ventilator at the hospital after his health deteriorated.
Yechuri had also released a 6-minute video on August 22 on X (formerly Twitter), leaving a message after the passing of Buddhadev Bhattacharya, former chief minister of West Bengal. On August 23, he posted a message of solidarity between the CPI(M), Congress and NC in Jammu and Kashmir for its upcoming assembly election.
He had also been active on August 29 posting his condolences for the death of Abdul Ghafoor Noorani, who was his close friend. Yechury, who is also a member of the politburo of the CPI(M) had recently undergone cataract surgery. He is known for continuing the coalition-building legacy of former general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet.
He collaborated with P Chidambaram to draft the common minimum programme for the United Front government in 1996 and played a key role in the coalition-building efforts during the formation of the United Progressive Alliance government in 2004.
In 1975, while still a student at JNU, he was arrested during the Emergency. He was also elected president of the JNU Students’ Union three times in the span of a year 1977–78.