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Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu no more

Basu's personal physician Dr Ajit Kumar Maity said that the veteran leader breathed his last at 11.47am at the AMRI Hospital.

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Marxist patriarch and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, who was battling for life in a Kolkata hospital for the last fortnight, died today.

"I have to give you a sad news that Jyoti Basu is no longer with us," Biman Bose, the chairman of the Left Front coordination committee, announced to reporters a little around 12.30pm.

An emotional Bose said that Jyoti Babu is no longer in this world. 95-year-old Basu, who had suffered multi-organ failure was on a temporary pacemaker since late last night.

Basu's personal physician Dr Ajit Kumar Maity said that the veteran leader breathed his last at 11.47am at the AMRI  Hospital where he was admitted with pneumonia on January 1. He was put on a ventilator on January 6.

Basu, who strode the political arena like a colossus for over six decades, is survived by son Chandan. His wife Kamal pre-deceased him four years ago.

A political legend, Basu became the longest serving chief minister of West Bengal for 23 years from 1997 at the head of CPI(M)-headed Left Front government. Union home minister P Chidambaram, who was in the city, rushed to the hospital. He said, "We have just learnt that Jyoti Basu, formally known as Jyoti Babu, has passed away. He strode like a collosus on the Indian political scene for several decades. He was a great patriot, a great democrat. He lived a full life".

"For the last fortnight, he suffered a lot. The West Bengal government has provided him with the best medical care in the country. We are deeply sad at his passing away.

"I offer my sincere condolence to his family and the people of West Bengal," he said.

Basu had been put on Slow Low Efficiency Daily Dialysis (SLEDD), but it was stopped after he was unable to tolerate it beyond seven-and-a-half hours yesterday.

It led to his heart beat and blood pressure dropping.

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