FORMER WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER JYOTI BASU CRITICALLY ILL

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000004

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: FORMER WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER JYOTI BASU CRITICALLY ILL


1. (U) Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, the longest
serving Chief Minister in India's political history (1977-2000)
and a founding member of the Communist Party of India - Marxist
(CPI-M),was hospitalized on January 1 and is in critical
condition. National and local political leaders from across the
political spectrum, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
(Congress) and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool),
who leads West Bengal's opposition party, have visited the
95-year old political icon in Kolkata. Rumors abound on his
actual physical condition, although media currently reports that
he is conscious, on a ventilator and in critical condition. In
the event of his death, the CPI-M-led West Bengal government
will declare a state-wide day of mourning. Post will observe
any West Bengal day of mourning and the Mission will send a
condolence letter to Basu's family.




2. (U) Basu was born in 1914 into an upper class land-owning
family. He graduated from Kolkata's renowned Presidency College
and then studied law in the United Kingdom. He was first
elected to the West Bengal legislative assembly in 1946 with the
Communist Party of India. He served as West Bengal's Chief
Minister from 1977 - 2000, when he resigned due to health
reasons. He was replaced by the current Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. His wife is deceased and he has one
son, Chandan Basu.



Comment




3. (SBU) Basu's life embodies the rise and fall of the CPI-M,
the most powerful force in the Left movement in India. It is
difficult to overstate his importance to the country's communist
movement. With a political career that spanned six decades, the
influence of India's "Chief Communist" extended beyond the
borders of West Bengal into the halls of New Delhi. His
national stature rivals that of any post-Independence political
figure. In 1996 his party's own Politburo decided by a one-vote
margin not to participate in the United Front government thereby
depriving him of the Prime Minister's chair - a decision he
later referred to as a "historic blunder". As the longest
serving Chief Minister in India's political history, it was
during his watch that the CPI-M institutionalized the iron grip
of communist rule in West Bengal, a hold that has slowly begun
to loosen since his retirement in 2000. His failing health
today may be synonymous with that of the party in West Bengal,
and more significantly, in India.

PAYNE