Former West Bengal chief minister and a prominent Marxist leader, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, will be remembered in the country's history as a practical communist who set aside his ideological beliefs to attract investment for the industrial development of his state.
The CPI(M) veteran, a typical Bengali gentleman with an untarnished reputation, will also ironically be remembered for the downfall of the 34-year-old Left regime in the state in 2011.
He supervised the conclusion of a period during which he led the longest democratically elected communist government, but failed to guide the Left Front to victory for the eighth consecutive time in the politically polarised state.
Bhattacharjee, who passed away on Thursday at his home in Kolkata, was 80. He is survived by his wife and a daughter, who has announced her decision to undergo gender transition.
Bhattacharjee, who served as the seventh chief minister of the state, made significant efforts to change his party's anti-industrialisation image and promote industrial growth to revitalise the stagnating economy of Bengal.
He was actively involved in attracting investors and large capital to establish industries in the state, aiming to create more job opportunities for the youth.
Despite being a member of the powerful Politburo of the party, he fearlessly spoke out against the practice of 'bandh' (strikes), a common tool used by Left parties to protest various issues.
His stance received both praise and criticism from within and outside the party. However, his ambitious vision for rapid industrialisation became the downfall of both himself and the CPI-M, as Mamata Banerjee's TMC skillfully took advantage of the anti-land acquisition protests.
In 2011, the Trinamool Congress managed to overthrow the dominant Left Front and marginalized the communists in the state's politics.
Born in north Kolkata on March 1, 1944, he came from a family with a scholarly background. His grandfather, Krishnachandra Smrititirtha, was a Sanskrit scholar who authoured a handbook for priests.
He was the distant relative of the famous Bengali poet Sukanta Bhattacharya, an influential figure in modern Bengali poetry.
He himself was recognised as a prolific writer and was skilled at quoting Rabindranath Tagore in diverse situations.
Bhattacharya was famous for living a simple life, residing in his two-room government flat on Palm Avenue both during his time as chief minister and thereafter.
After completing his studies in Bengali at Presidency College, he briefly worked as a teacher before fully dedicating himself to politics and joining the CPI(M) in the mid-1960s. He was noticed by Promode Dasgupta, who guided him along with other party leaders from Bengal such as Biman Bose, Anil Biswas, Subhas Chakraborty, and Shyamal Chakraborty.
In 1977, he won a seat in the Assembly for the first time representing the Cossipore constituency and, at the age of 33, he became the information and culture minister in the initial Left Front government under Jyoti Basu.
Bhattacharjee gained recognition for his efforts in promoting Bengali culture, theatre, literature, and quality films, and was instrumental in establishing 'Nandan' - the film and cultural centre in Kolkata. However, he was defeated in the elections in 1982.
This loss compelled him to change his constituency to Jadavpur in the southern part of the city. In 1987, he re-entered the state cabinet. Nevertheless, in 1993, he abruptly resigned from the cabinet following alleged criticism of his impolite behaviour with a bureaucrat.
This prompted him to step back from active politics and write a play, 'Dushshamai' (Bad Times).
The political landscape underwent a significant transformation when the CPI(M), in search of a successor to the elderly Basu and facing strong anti-incumbency, reintegrated Bhattacharjee into the state cabinet initially as the state home minister.
In three years, he took on the role of deputy chief minister and ultimately succeeded Basu as the chief minister in November 2000.
The subsequent year, he steered the Left Front to triumph in the state assembly elections and launched ambitious initiatives for rapid industrialisation in the agrarian state.
He put aside his ideological beliefs in order to appeal to investors and deal with the flight of capital from Bengal during the Left regime.
While serving as a Politburo member, he openly criticized CITU, the party's trade union wing, for organizing strikes and bandhs. This move was well-received by the public, leading to a surge in his popularity and a resounding victory for the LF in the 2006 assembly polls.
Bhattacharjee persistently worked towards industrialising Bengal and earned the nickname 'Brand Buddha' from the media, highlighting his government's development initiatives. His most significant achievement was attracting Tata Motors to build a small car plant in Singur, a fertile agricultural area near the city.
However, this decision faced opposition from farmers, a crucial support base for the Left parties, and eventually became one of the main reasons for the downfall of the Marxist government.
During his tenure, Nandigram also experienced significant upheaval, where protests led by TMC leader Mamata Banerjee against the acquisition of farmland for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) resulted in a substantial erosion of LF's voter base. The police firing on protestors on March 14, 2007, which caused the death of 14 people, further complicated matters for the Marxists.
His failure to take decisive action to end Banerjee's protest near the proposed small car plant at Singur also worked against him and contributed to Tata's departure from the industry-starved state in January 2008.
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