D Raja's name proposed for CPI general secretary

New Delhi: CPI national executive meeting on Friday unanimously proposed the name of senior central secretariat member D Raja, 70, as the party general secretary to succeed incumbent S Sudhakar Reddy, who has expressed his desire to quit the top post on health ground.

The proposal will be now placed before CPI national council, which is meeting in the next two days for final approval, it is learnt. Raja's name was proposed by Reddy and was endorsed by all executive members.

Born in a poor Dalit family in Tamil Nadu, Raja rose in the party ranks by leading both the CPI students and youth wings at the national level before becoming part of the CPI national leadership for many decades now. His second term as a Rajya Sabha member will end later this month.