Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
A former West Bengal chief minister, from 2000 to 2011, who declined the Padma Bhushan announced for him in 2022. He died in 2024.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who served as chief minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011. He was named for the Padma Bhushan in 2022 in the field of public affairs, from West Bengal [1], but declined the award [3].
In public life
Bhattacharjee was born in north Kolkata on 1 March 1944 into a family of scholars, and joined the CPI(M) in the mid-1960s [2]. In 2000 he succeeded Jyoti Basu as chief minister [2]. In office he tried to draw large industrial investment to the state, and brought Tata Motors to set up a car plant at Singur; opposition to land acquisition for the project became a major issue in the elections his government lost in 2011 [2]. He stepped down from the party’s politburo in 2015 [2].
The award he declined
When the Padma Bhushan was announced for him in January 2022, he said he knew nothing of it and declined to accept it [3].
Bhattacharjee died at his home in Kolkata on 8 August 2024, aged 80 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee: The communist who tried to rebrand Bengal dies at 80 — The Week (PTI). Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [3] Ex-Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee rejects Padma Bhushan award — Onmanorama. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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