Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (Bengali: বুদ্ধদেব ভট্টাচার্য, lit. 'Buddhodeb Bhôttacharjo') (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian communist politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011. In a political career over 5 decades, he became one of the senior leaders of Communist Party of India (Marxist) during his regime.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee বুদ্ধদেব ভট্টাচার্য | |
|---|---|
Bhattacharjee in 2006 | |
| 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal | |
| In office 6 November 2000 – 13 May 2011 | |
| Governor | Viren J. Shah Gopalkrishna Gandhi Devanand Konwar M. K. Narayanan |
| Preceded by | Jyoti Basu |
| Succeeded by | Mamata Banerjee |
| 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal | |
| In office 12 January 1999 – 5 November 2000 | |
| Chief Minister | Jyoti Basu |
| Preceded by | Bijoy Singh Nahar |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Cabinet Minister, Government of West Bengal | |
| In office 1996 – 5 November 2000 | |
| Chief Minister | Jyoti Basu |
| Ministry and Departments | Home and Hill Affairs |
| In office 1987–1996 | |
| Chief Minister | Jyoti Basu |
| Ministry and Departments | Information and Culture, Urban Development, Municipal Affairs |
| In office 1977–1982 | |
| Ministry and Departments | Information and Culture |
| Member of Legislative Assembly, West Bengal | |
| In office 1987–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Ashok Mitra |
| Succeeded by | Manish Gupta |
| Constituency | Jadavpur |
| In office 1977–1982 | |
| Preceded by | Prafulla Kanti Ghosh |
| Succeeded by | Prafulla Kanti Ghosh |
| Constituency | Cossipur |
| Member of Polit Bureau, Communist Party of India (Marxist) | |
| In office 2002–2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 March 1944 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Political party | Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
| Relations | Sukanta Bhattacharya (uncle) |
| Residence(s) | Palm Avenue, Kolkata |
| Alma mater | Presidency College |
Bhattacharjee was known for his relatively open policies regarding business, in contrast with the financial policies of CPI(M) being primarily anti-capitalist. But trying to do so, Bhattacharjee in his tenure as CM faced strong land acquisition protests and allegations about violence against the protesters. This led Bhattacharjee to lose the election in 2011 resulting the fall of Left Front's 34 years of rule in West Bengal, the world's longest democratically elected communist government.