West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condoled the demise of former Chief Minister of State Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and said she was shocked and saddened by the sudden demise of the former CM.
Banerjee said she has known 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. I communicate my condolences to the members of the CPI(M) party and all his followers. We have already taken a decision that we shall give him full respect and ceremonial honour during his last journey and rites”, West Bengal CM said in a post on X.
Veteran Left leader Bhattacharjee died at his south Kolkata residence early this morning. He was 80. He had been suffering from ill-health for several years, chiefly against respiratory problems that often landed him in hospitals. Last year, he was put on life support when a bout of pneumonia hit him, but the fightful CPM leader he was, made a remarkable recovery. He leaves behind his wife Meera and son Suchetan.
A former politburo member of the apex decision-making body of the CPM, Bhattacharjee led the Bengal Chief Ministership between 2000 to 2011 succeeding Jyoti Basu. Under his leadership, CPM fought the 2011 state elections, which the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC convincingly won ending the 34-year Communist regime in the state.
The 77-year-old Bhattacharjee, known for his austere life, died at the simple two-room house on Palm Avenue where, ironically, he had led the administration of the state. His organs would be donated for medical research in accordance with his wish. His body would be taken to the CPI headquarters for people to pay homage. The last rites would be performed on Saturday.
Bhattacharjee is an alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, and became a full-time politician after starting his career as a school teacher. An MLA and a state minister, he was being groomed for greater things to come as he was elevated as Deputy Chief Minister soon after Basu’s resignation in 2000. As Chief Minister, he led the CPM to electoral victories in the 2001 and 2006 Assembly polls.
His tenure has taken a comparatively liberal stand toward business, as compared with that of the Jyoti Basu era. Ironically, it was precisely this policy, coupled with the controversial land acquisitions for industrialization, that caused the Left to suffer an ignominious defeat in the 2011 election.
The Trinamool Congress, which managed to win only 30 seats in the 2006 polls, led the fight against the Tata Motors project at Singur. It was finally shifted out of the State to Gujarat in 2008 by Ratan Tata, who cited Banerjee’s agitation as the reason. The development marked a severe embarrassment to Bhattacharjee’s Government. No less damaging was the Nandigram violence, in which 14 people died when police fired on those protesting acquisition of land for a chemical hub.
The benefiting party, Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, rode to power in 2011 with 184 seats on the wave of anti-incumbency sentiment against the Left Front and the negative perception of the land acquisition policies of the state government. The defeat completed the slide into a decline from which it has yet to recover. A decade later, the BJP is now the principal Opposition, pushing the Left to a minor force in a state it once ruled unchallenged for decades.
Condoling his death, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said that it marked the end of an era of politics. Chief Minister Banerjee said in her condolence message: “I am deeply saddened. My condolences to Meera di, Suchetan, and all CPM supporters. We have decided to accord him full respect and ceremonial honours during his last journey and rites.”.
Leader of the Opposition, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, took to Twitter to condone his “deep sadness over the death to the family and fans” of Bhattacharjee.
Long-time fellow and CPM general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, described the news of Bhattacharjee’s passing as “shattering”. “His commitment to the party, West Bengal, our shared ideals and his foresight will always be a guiding star,” he said.