D Raja to replace Sudhakar Reddy as CPI general secretary

 Rajya Sabha MP D Raja will take over as the general secretary of the Communist Parry of India (CPI) after incumbent S Sudhakar Reddy resigned on health grounds, party sources said Saturday.

The change in leadership comes after the party's worst-ever performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the CPI National Council -- the party's top decision-making body -- which began Friday.

Raja's name was proposed unanimously by the CPI national secretariat, which met on Thursday and Friday ahead of the National Council meeting, sources said.

The proposal has to be discussed and ratified at the National Council meeting. The party sources said it was merely a formality.

Seventy-year-old Raja is a member of the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu.

Reddy had taken over as the CPI general secretary in 2012 and is currently serving his third term. He is bowing out two years ahead of completion of his current three-year term.