Former West Bengal Chief Minister and CPM leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away on Thursday morning in Calcutta at the age of 80, following a long illness. He served as the CPM’s Chief Minister from 2000 to 2011. Bhattacharya had been hospitalized in Alipore on July 29, 2023, for pneumonia and was on a ventilator but was discharged on August 9 after responding to treatment.