Former Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya Passes Away at 80; Mamata Banerjee announces state holiday

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya breathed his last on Thursday morning, he was 80 and had been ailing for long. Bhattacharya was the last Marxist Chief Minister who had taken over the mantle from Jyoti Basu in 2000 and had remained as the chief minister till 2011, ending the 34 years of Left rule in the state with his exit from the office after Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress came to power. He passed away at around 8.20 am at his Palm Avenue residence in Kolkata. As a chief minister and even after that he had stayed at the 2bhk Palm Avenue residence forever.

“This is end of an era. He was a tall leader and our inspiration. He had ben ailing for long. It’s a big loss for everyone. His body will be kept at ‘Peace Heaven’ today and tomorrow we will take his body to Allimuddin Street, the head office of the CPIM and finally at 4.30 pm his last journey will be taken out”, said Md Salim, CPIM leader.

West Bengal government announced a full day of leave to all government employees in honour of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. “Shocked and saddened by the sudden demise of the former Chief Minister Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. I have been knowing him for the 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” wrote Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on ‘X’. Banerjee had met Bhattacharya at the hospital, every time he was admitted due to ill health. “We will want to give state honour to him tomorrow. I will visit his residence shortly to express my condolences to the family. There are several memories that are floating before my eyes. There were political differences but there can never be any difference in courtesy and humanity” said the Trinamool Congress supremo.

He never liked getting admitted to a hospital but due to prolonged ailment, medical arrangements were kept at the small flat which reflected an austere lifestyle. For the past five years he had taken a sabbatical from public life, in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the CPIM had used an AI-generated audio message of Bhattacharya urging voters to vote for the Left. Known for his industrial push in Bengal, his political career of 11 years had been mired in controversies of forceful land acquisition leading to bloodshed in Nandigram and Singur towards the end but he never shied away from the need for industrialisation in the state. Instrumental in getting Tara Nano in Singur, that was his last major move, and also accredited for the ouster of the Left from office after 34 years of rule. A gentleman, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was also a known avid reader.