S Sudhakar Reddy has been elected unopposed as new general secretary of CPI, replacing AB Bardhan who held the post since 1997. Reddy who hails from Andhra Pradesh was the party's deputy general secretary for the last four years.

The national council of the party held in Patna also elected eight others as members of central secretariat. They include AB Bardhan, Gurudas Dasgupta, D Raja and Atul Anjan.