Former Rajya Sabha MP and veteran CPI(M) leader Nepaldev Bhattacharya passes away at 74

Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Nepaldev Bhattacharya passed away late on Monday night at the age of 74. He died at a private hospital located on EM Bypass in Kolkata. Bhattacharya had been unwell for some time and was gradually withdrawing from active politics due to health issues.

Nepaldev Bhattacharya was associated with the Left movement from his student days. He served three terms as the All India General Secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). During his time in SFI, he worked alongside leaders such as Sitaram Yechury and M. A. Baby. In 1981, Bhattacharya was elected to the Rajya Sabha and was among the youngest MPs at that time.

In the 1990s, Bhattacharya was expelled from the CPM on charges of anti-party activities. He was later reinstated with full responsibilities. In 2015, he was appointed as the North 24 Parganas district secretary of the party. He contested the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections from Rajarhat-Gopalpur but was defeated. He also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Dum Dum constituency against TMC leader Saugata Roy but was unsuccessful.

His body was taken from the hospital to the CITU state office, Shramik Bhavan, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. From there, it was taken to the SFI state office, Dinesh Majumdar Bhavan, followed by his residence at Belgachia Villa. The procession then moved to Boi Mela Office in Lake Town, and later to the CPM North 24 Parganas district office in Barasat and the CITU district office in Barrackpore. The final journey concluded at his ancestral home in Bhatpara, where his last rites were performed at the Bhatpara crematorium.

Leaders, party workers, and members of student and trade union organisations paid their final respects at each location. Bhattacharya’s political journey spanned decades, during which he held leadership roles in student, trade union, and district party units across West Bengal.