Who Was Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee? Ex-West Bengal CM Dies At 80

Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee died on Thursday at his Kolkata home, CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Salim said. He was suffering from old age-related ailments. Bhattacharjee was 80 and is survived by his wife, Mira, and son, Suchetan Bhattacharjee.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was born on March 1, 1944, in Kolkata. He studied at Sailendra Sircar Vidyalaya and later pursued higher education at the Presidency College in Kolkata, where he secured his B.A. degree in Bengali (Honors).

His father, Nepalchandra Bhattacharjee, was involved in the family publication, Saraswat Library, which focused on Hindu religious materials. His grandfather, Krishnachandra Smrititirtha, was a respected Sanskrit scholar, priest, and prolific writer. He authored 'Purohit Darpan,' a guide for Bengali Hindu priests.

Bhattacharjee was known for his frugal lifestyle. His family lived in a two-room apartment in Ballygunge, Kolkata, in a two-room apartment for decades and he even operated as Chief Minister from the same residence.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee took over as the chief minister of West Bengal in 2000 from party senior Jyoti Basu. He remained in the post till 2011.

Bhattacharjee focused on industrialisation and economic development, seeking to transform West Bengal's agrarian economy. He invited several major industrial projects to the state, including those by Tata Motors and Salim Group. His pro-industry stance led to significant opposition from within his party and rural population, resulting in Nandigram and Singur movements.

Bhattacharjee lost the 2011 assembly election to current CM Mamata Banerjee's TMC and the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34-year-long rule in the state came to an end that year.

He stepped down from the CPI(M) policy-making and central committee in 2015, and gave up membership of the party's state secretariat in 2018.

Bhattacharjee has authored several books, including essays and poems, that delve into the socio-political landscape of Bengal and the broader Indian context. Some of the titles are 'Advance in Jute Agronomy Processing and Marketing', 'Advances In Sunflower Agronomy', 'Rachana Prabaho' etc.

In August 2023, Bhattacharjee was discharged from a hospital on Wednesday after 11 days of treatment. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 29, 2023, with lower respiratory tract infection and 'Type 2' respiratory failure. He was suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and other age-related ailments.