West Bengal: Veteran CPM leader Shyamal Chakraborty dies days after testing Covid positive

76-year-old Shyamal Chakraborty had served as the West Bengal transport minister during the erstwhile Left Front government. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha.

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Veteran CPM leader, former Rajya Sabha MP Shyamal Chakraborty passed away. (Picture source: CPM West Bengal/Twitter)

Veteran CPM leader and former West Bengal transport minister Shyamal Chakraborty passed away on Thursday, party sources said. He had tested positive for Covid-19 last week and was admitted to a private hospital. The 76-year-old breathed his last at around 1:45 pm today.

CPM MLA Sujan Chakraborty said his passing away will create a huge void in the Left politics in the state. “He was a stalwart Left leader who shouldered important responsibilities in the trade union movement. It is a matter of great loss for the party. This is end of an era. Today he passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest,” said the CPM MLA.

We express deep sadness at demise of Comrade Shyamal Chakraborty. He was a veteran TU leader, former minister & Central Committee member of the CPI(M). Today the working class and the left movement in the country has lost an important voice. We dip our flags in his memory. pic.twitter.com/URcXZ3gADZ

— CPI(M) WEST BENGAL (@CPIM_WESTBENGAL) August 6, 2020

The CITU leader had been suffering from old age-related ailments for a very long time. He was put on ventilator support from August 1 after experiencing breathing troubles.

The senior CPM leader had served as the state transport minister during the erstwhile Left Front government. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was also the state president of CITU, the trade union arm of CPM.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Abdul Mannan said, “I knew him from my college days as we both did students’ politics. He was also a member of state Assembly and later became a state minister. I always had a good personal relationship with him despite our ideological differences. He never disrespected his opponents. We always received his support when needed. It is a great loss for Bengal politics.”

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