Former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Dies At 80

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee passed away on Thursday at his Kolkata residence, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Mohd Salim has confirmed.

Bhattacharjee, who was 80, had been suffering from age-related health issues. He is survived by his wife, Mira, and daughter, Suchetana. The party official reported that he died around 8:30 a.m.

The veteran CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee assumed the role of chief minister of West Bengal in 2000, succeeding Jyoti Basu. His tenure ended in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress won the assembly election, bringing a close to the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34-year rule in the state.

Bhattacharjee's term was marked by significant agitations over land acquisition for industries, led by the current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

In 2015, Bhattacharjee stepped down from the CPI(M) politburo and central committee, and by 2018, he had also resigned from the party's state secretariat.

In recent years, he largely withdrew from public life, residing quietly in his two-room government apartment on Palm Avenue in south Kolkata.

(With text inputs from PTI)