Former West Bengal chief minister and veteran communist leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away at his Kolkata residence on Thursday at the age of 80. Bhattacharya had been battling age-related ailments for a considerable period and was taken to hospitals multiple times in the recent past.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Salim confirmed the news of the demise of former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
In recent years, the former chief minister had withdrawn from public life due to his health challenges.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya stepped down from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] politburo and central committee in 2015, followed by relinquishing his membership of the state secretariat in 2018.
The Left leader 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 present Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya lost the 2011 assembly election to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34-year-long rule in the state came to an end that year.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was last seen in public when he surprised party workers by arriving unannounced at the Left's rally at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with oxygen support.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Bhattacharjee. "He was a political stalwart who served the state with commitment. My heartfelt condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti," Modi said in a post on X.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condoled the death of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and said the state government will provide him with full respect and ceremonial honour during his last journey. Banerjee said she was "shocked and saddened" by the demise of her predecessor.
West Bengal Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suvendu Adhikari took to microblogging to pay tributes to the veteran leader. "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," he said.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is survived by his wife Mira and daughter Suchetana.
The mortal remains of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will be handed over to state government-run NRS Medical College and Hospital here on Friday for research work, a CPI(M) official.
The body of Bhattacharjee, wrapped with the CPI(M)'s red flag, was taken out of his frugal two-room residence at Palm Avenue in south Kolkata on way to mortuary Peace World on Thursday.
