DH Web Desk
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was born in north Kolkata on March 1, 1944, into a family with an academic heritage. His grandfather, Krishnachandra Smrititirtha was a Sanskrit scholar who wrote a handbook for priests.
Credit: X/@ncbn
After graduating from Presidency College with a degree in Bengali, he worked briefly as a teacher before dedicating himself entirely to politics, joining the CPI(M) in the mid-1960s.
Credit: PTI
Buddhadeb was discovered by Promode Dasgupta, who, along with other key party leaders from Bengal such as Biman Bose, Anil Biswas, Subhas Chakraborty, and Shyamal Chakraborty, mentored him.
Credit: PTI
He was first elected to the Assembly in 1977 from the Cossipore constituency and, at the age of 33, became the Information and Culture Minister in the inaugural Left Front government under Jyoti Basu.
Credit: X/@BanglarGorboMB
He then gained recognition for his efforts to promote Bengali culture, theatre, literature, and quality films, and played a key role in founding 'Nandan,' the film and cultural center in Kolkata. However, he lost the election in 1982.
Credit: DH Pool Photo
This prompted him to move his constituency to Jadavpur in the southern part of the city, and he rejoined the state cabinet in 1987.
Credit: Instagram/@@BRSHarish
He resigned abruptly from the cabinet in 1993, reportedly after being criticised for his rude behavior towards a bureaucrat.
Credit: X/@Drishtibhongi
Bhattacharjee persistently pursued his efforts for the industrialisation of Bengal and earned the moniker of 'Brand Buddha' from the media to signify his government's developmental initiatives.
Credit: X/@RitabrataBanerj
This led him to step away from active politics and write a play titled Dushshamai (Bad Times).
Credit: Special Arrangement
The situation shifted dramatically when the CPI(M), seeking a successor to the aging Basu and grappling with significant anti-incumbency, reintroduced Bhattacharjee to the state cabinet, initially appointing him as the state home minister.
Credit: Special Arrangement
In just three years, he took on the role of deputy chief minister and ultimately succeeded Basu as chief minister in November 2000.
Credit: X/@TMC_Supporters
One of his greatest feats was attracting Tata Motors to establish a small car plant at Singur, a fertile agricultural area not far from the city.
Credit: X/@divine0think