Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Passes Away at 80

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee died on Thursday at his Kolkata home due to age-related ailments, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said.

The former chief minister, aged 80, is survived by his wife Mira and daughter Suchetana, who underwent gender change surgery. A party official stated that Bhattacharjee passed away around 8:30 am. Salim informed reporters that Bhattacharjee’s body will be kept at a mortuary during the day and moved to the CPI(M) state headquarters at Alimuddin Street on Friday, allowing people to pay their respects. Following this, his body will be donated to a hospital for medical research, as per his wishes.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences, stating that the state government would provide full respect and ceremonial honor during his last journey. “I have known him for several decades and visited him a few times when he was ill and confined to his home in the last few years. My sincere condolences to Meera di and Suchetana at this hour of grief,” Banerjee said on X.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, also condoled Bhattacharjee’s death. “I am deeply saddened to learn that former West Bengal Chief Minister Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has left for his heavenly abode… I pray that his soul finds eternal peace,” the BJP leader said.

CPI(M) supporters gathered near Bhattacharjee’s residence, while leaders of various political parties visited his flat. The veteran CPI(M) leader assumed the role of chief minister of West Bengal in 2000, succeeding party senior Jyoti Basu. Bhattacharjee lost the 2011 assembly election to Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, ending the CPI(M)-led Left Front’s 34-year rule in the state. His tenure was marked by agitations over land acquisition for industries, led by current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Bhattacharjee stepped down from the CPI(M) politburo and central committee in 2015 and relinquished his membership in the party’s state secretariat in 2018. In recent years, he stayed away from public events, remaining confined to his two-room government apartment at Palm Avenue in south Kolkata.