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Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to be Basu's heir apparent

The ruling Left Front in West Bengal unanimously nominated the Home (police) Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as deputy chief minister of the state.

Earlier today, the West Bengal state secretariat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist endorsed his name as the deputy chief minister to lessen the burden on octogenarian Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. Bhattacharjee's choice as deputy chief minister was unanimous, a spokesman of the CPI-M said after the state secretariat meeting.

At the start of this month, the CPI-M politburo had suggested the creation of the post of deputy chief minister in West Bengal and requested the state secretariat to take a decision to this effect.

Basu had some time back requested the politburo to allow him to retire because of old age and related ailments. The politburo instead requested Basu to continue as chief minister till the next assembly elections in the state and suggested the creation of a deputy chief minister's post. Basu accepted the politburo's proposal.

UNI

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