Former Chief Minister of West Bengal and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, passed away at his Kolkata home on Thursday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 80 years old and is survived by his wife, Mira, and daughter, Suchetana.

Bhattacharya had been admitted to a private hospital in Alipore on July 29, 2023, with multiple ailments. He was diagnosed with a lower respiratory tract infection and ‘Type 2’ respiratory failure. The former chief minister had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other age-related ailments.

Taking over as the Chief Minister of West Bengal in 2000 from senior party leader Jyoti Basu, Bhattacharya became the second and last CPM chief minister during the Left Front’s 34-year rule in the state. He held the office for 11 consecutive years until his defeat in the 2011 assembly elections to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC). This loss marked the end of the CPI(M)-led Left Front’s long reign in West Bengal, from which it has yet to recover.

In recent years, Bhattacharya remained away from public life due to his deteriorating health, staying confined to his apartment on Palm Avenue. He made a rare public appearance in 2019, surprising party workers by attending a Left rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata with oxygen support, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Bhattacharya stepped down from the CPI(M)’s Politburo and Central Committee in 2015, and resigned from the party’s state secretariat in 2018.

The news of Bhattacharya’s passing has elicited shock and condolences from politicians across the country. Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari expressed his sorrow on social media platform X, stating, “I am deeply saddened to learn that former West Bengal Chief Minister; Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has left for his heavenly abode. Condolences to his family members and admirers. I pray that his soul finds eternal peace. Om Shanti.”