On January 4, 1979, the internal conflict between Eskandari and other members of the Tudeh Party on the issue of whether he should back Ruhollah Khomeini, the proclaimed leader of the revolution, or not, led to his dismissal in the 16th congress of the central committee of the Tudeh Party. Eskandari was unwilling to support Khomeini, and as a result, he was dismissed in favor of Noureddin Kianouri, who backed Khomeini in the revolution. This is contrary to Eskandari's beliefs, however, as he stated that there were no political and organizational objections to him, and this dismissal was related to the turbulent political situation in Iran at that time.