Buddhadev Bhattacharya, Chief Minister of West Bengal, has been associated with Left front politics for a long time. He is the first person to be appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister during the 23-year-rule of the Left Front Government in West Bengal. He was born on March 1,1944, in Kolkata. His father was Nepal Chandra Bhattacharya.
Buddhadev Bhattacharya entered politics in 1944, while graduating from Presidency College. While pursuing his academic carrier he also took part in almost every major student movement organized in the Calcutta University campus. His association with leftist politics led to his imprisonment in 1966, 1967 and 1972. He became the first National General Secretary of the Democratic Youth Federation of India in l968.
Bhattacharya has been a minister in the West Bengal government since 1977. He became the Chief Minister of the state in 2001, as the successor of Jyoti Basu. He is also a reputed dramatist and poet.