Calcutta, March 22: Veteran Communist leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today expressed his happiness over the party's decision to relieve him from his duties next year.``I am extremely happy that the party will relieve me next year, Basu, who has been Chief Minister of the state for a record 23 years, told reporters here.``I am not well and I want to retire. Accordingly I wrote to the party to relieve me, said the octogenarian Chief Minister.After a political career spanning over half a century, Basu wanted to retire last year because of his old age and failing health. But the CPI (M) politburo requested him to continue as Chief Minister till the next assembly election in 2001.The politburo also suggested the appointment of a deputy Chief Minister to lessen Basu's burden. Accordingly, Home (police) Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was appointed his deputy.Bhattacharjee is expected to succeed Basu if the party returned to power in the next election.Party state secretary Anil Biswas said, ``there's no question of his contesting the 2001 assembly polls. Basu is not keeping well. He'll turn 86 next year, and given his health, it won't be possible for him to contest. But he'll certainly be our chief campaigner.''The retirement has not come as a surprise. Basu had expressed his unhappiness over the decision of the majority of central committee members, comprising hardliners, not to join the United Front ministry that he was invited to lead in 1996.Another reason for Basu's unhappiness was his inability to infiltrate the liberal ideas through the central body for updating the party policy making it more flexible.Born in a zaminder family of erstwhile east Bengal, now Bangladesh, Basu was educated in Calcutta and England. A barrister by profession, he became a communist after coming close to Rajani Palm Dutt, while studying law in England.Basu was elected to the legistlative assembly of undivided Bengal in 1946 defeating Humayun Kabir of Congress from railway constituency. Since then he has been repeatedly elected except in 1972, notoriously famed for widespread rigging.He became Chief Minister of West Bengal in 1977.
