Ex-Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's Condition Improves Considerably

The health condition of former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has improved considerably, a doctor treating him said on Wednesday. Doctors treating him are considering the next step of treatment before deciding on when to discharge him from the hospital, he said.

"Bhattacharya, 79, is out of danger as all his parameters were found to be normal today. Oxygen saturation in his blood has improved. The severity of his lung infection is mild now. Necessary medicines are being administered. We are constantly monitoring his condition," he said. The multidisciplinary team treating the former West Bengal CM is likely to take a call on when to discharge him, he said.

Bhattacharya was rushed to the hospital in Kolkata's Alipore area with breathing trouble, and was diagnosed with lower respiratory tract infection and 'Type 2' respiratory failure. He has been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and other age-related ailments.

He took over as the chief minister of West Bengal in 2000 from party senior Jyoti Basu. He remained in the post till 2011, handling a tenure marked by agitations over the acquisition of land for industries led by now Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

As Bhattacharya lost the 2011 assembly elections to Banerjee's TMC, the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34 years of rule in the state came to an end -- a loss from which it is yet to recover. Over the last few years, Bhattacharya stayed away from the public glare due to his deteriorating health and remained confined to his Palm Avenue apartment.

He was last seen in public when he surprised party workers by arriving unannounced at the Left's rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with oxygen support. Bhattacharya had stepped down from the CPI(M)'s Politburo and Central Committee in 2015 and gave up membership of the party's state secretariat in 2018.