Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former chief minister of West Bengal, passes away at 80
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former chief minister of West Bengal, passed away on Thursday at the age of 80.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former chief minister of West Bengal, passed away on Thursday at his home. He was 80 years old. The former CM has been ailing for several years from chronic respiratory issues.
The veteran CPI(M) leader is survived by his wife, Mira, and son Suchetan.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences over the demise of the veteran leader.
“Shocked and saddened by the sudden demise of the former Chief Minister Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. I have been knowing him for last several decades, and visited him a few times when he was ill and effectively confined to home in the last few years. My very sincere condolences to Meeradi and Suchetan at this hour of grief. I communicate my condolences to the members of the CPI(M) party and all his followers,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
She added, “We have already taken a decision that we shall give him full respect and ceremonial honour during his last journey and rites.”
West Bengal leader of opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari also expressed his condolences.
“I am deeply saddened to learn that former West Bengal Chief Minister; Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has left for his heavenly abode. Condolences to his family members and admirers. I pray that his soul finds eternal peace. Om Shanti,” he wrote.
Bhattacharjee was a veteran CPI(M) leader, who served as the West Bengal CM from 2002 to 2011, succeeding Jyoti Basu. In 2011, Bhattacharjee lost the assembly election to Mamata Banerjee, ending the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34-year-long rule in the state.
In 1966, Bhattacharjee joined the CPI(M) as a primary member. In 1968, he was elected state secretary of the Democratic Youth Federation, the youth wing of the CPI(M) that was later merged into the Democratic Youth Federation of India.
He was elected to the state committee of the CPI(M) in 1972 and was inducted into the state secretariat in 1982.
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The former CM also served as minister of information and public relations in the West Bengal cabinet and minister of information and cultural affairs. He held departments of urban development and municipal affairs.
Bhattacharjee was also a former member of the CPM's top decision-making body, Politburo.
His tenure as the CM was marked by agitations over the acquisition of land for industries led by Mamata Banerjee.
Over the last few years, he mostly stayed away from public programmes and remained confined to his two-room government apartment at Palm Avenue in south Kolkata.