Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee: Philanthropic communist who thought out of the box for all-round progress of Bengal 

With the death of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, we have lost a philanthropic communist who proved that political work is for public service and should be carried out with principled idealism. Buddhadeb who became the Chief Minister after Jyoti Basu, who had a towering personality and was in power in Bengal for twenty-three years, is also a leader who has won the hearts of the people. His knowledge of language and literature and his simple lifestyle made him a unique leader. West Bengal is still one of the least developed states. Malayalees generally call all migrant workers who come to Kerala as Bengalis. This is because Bengal is a place where other means of livelihood and income are at a minimum and people are leaving Bengal in droves to look for work in other states.

The attempt to industrialize Bengal, anticipating that such a situation would arise, is what led to Buddhadeb's loss of power. He became CPM's last Chief Minister of Bengal when all the opponents of the left stood together in the agitation against land acquisition for industry. Time will prove Buddhadeb right as West Bengal will have to go back to that path to survive today if not tomorrow. He ventured beyond theory into a practical way, not for any personal gain, but only for the all-round progress of the state and its poor people.

He became a member of CPM in 1966. Member of the State Committee in 1971. He joined the Central Committee in 1985 and the Politburo in 2000. Since 2018, he has been absent from all positions due to illness. In 2006, about 1000 acres of agricultural land was acquired in Singur for Tata's car manufacturing factory, thinking that it would usher Bengal into the industrial age. He hoped that the special industrial zone of the Salim Group from Indonesia at Nandigram and the Jindal Group's integrated steel plant at Salboni in West Midnapore would also provide space for industrialization. However, the people took up the agitation by the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee taking advantage of the failure to provide rehabilitation and compensation to the land owners and tenant farmers when the agricultural land was acquired.

Things got out of hand when 14 farmers were killed in police firing on March 14, 2007. It ushered in a new political upheaval in West Bengal and led to the downfall of the CPM. However, the simple life he led as Chief Minister is an example for all the political leaders of the country. He gave up the government bungalow and lived in a two-room flat in Beliganj with his wife and daughter. Along with political activity, he also led a long literary career. He translated two works of Márquez and the poems of Mayakovsky. Buddhadeb's contribution to the development of the deep cultural heritage of Bengal is immeasurable. With the demise of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was the human face of Left politics, the country has lost a great political leader who worked for results without any wish for personal gain.