West Bengal: Former West Bengal Chief Minister and CPM leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away on Thursday morning in Calcutta at the age of 80, following a long illness. He served as the CPM’s Chief Minister from 2000 to 2011. Bhattacharya had been hospitalized in Alipore on July 29, 2023, for pneumonia and was on a ventilator but was discharged on August 9 after responding to treatment.
Who Was Buddhadeb Bhattarya?
Former West Bengal chief minister and a front-ranking Marxist leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was a pragmatic communist who kept aside his ideological convictions to woo capital for the industrialisation of his state. The CPI(M) stalwart – a quintessential Bengali ‘bhadralok’ with an incorruptible image – will be ironically remembered also for the fall of the 34-year-old Left regime in the state in 2011.
He oversaw the end of an era in which he helmed the longest democratically elected communist government but failed to lead the Left Frong to victory for the eighth time in a row in the highly politically polarised state.
CM Mamata Banerjee Expresses Grief
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief on the passing away of former CM and Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday. Taking to twitter, she said, “I am saddened by the sudden demise of former West Bengal Chief Minister Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya. I have known him for decades and visited him at home a few times when he was ill in the last few years. I feel very sad right now. My sincere condolences to Meeradi and Suchetan in this time of bereavement. My sincere condolences to all CPI (M) party members, supporters and all their followers.”