Former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee passed away at 8.20 AM on Thursday. He was 80.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011. He was the last CM of the Left Front in Bengal.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who was among his staunch political rivals, offered her condolences to the Bhattacharjee family: "I am saddened by the sudden demise of former West Bengal Chief Minister Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. I have known him for decades and visited him at home a few times when he was ill in the last few years... My sincere condolences to Meeradi [wife] and Suchetan [son] in this time of bereavement. My sincere condolences to all CPI (M) party members, supporters and all their followers."
Bengal BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari reacted to the former CM's death, saying: "I am deeply saddened to learn that former West Bengal Chief Minister; Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has left for his heavenly abode."
The CPI(M) heavyweight ushered in an era of investment, industrialisation and open-to-business policies, which were widely seen to be in contrast with the Left's anti-capitalism stance. He managed to get investments for Bengal from various sectors. However, his land acquisition attempts for the Tata plant in Singur and the chemical manufacturing hub in Nandigram met stiff resistance. This led to the Left suffering heavy losses in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress took advantage of the Left's loss of ground and routed it in the 2011 Bengal Assembly elections. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the last Left Front Chief Minister of Bengal, was defeated in his own constituency, becoming the second Bengal CM with the unenviable distinction.
In 2022, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was named for the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India. However, he turned it down.