Former West Bengal chief minister and a prominent Marxist leader, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, will be remembered in the country's history as a practical communist who set aside his ideological beliefs to attract investment for the industrial development of his state.

Bhattacharjee, a former member of the CPM's top decision-making body, the Politburo, served as Bengal's Chief Minister from 2000 to 2011, succeeding Jyoti Basu.