AB Bardhan who steered CPI during the turbulent period of coalition politic at the national level in the 1990s died of prolonged illness. Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader A.B. Bardhan, who passed away has been a leading figure of the trade union movement and left politics in the State of Maharashtra. He held the post of general secretary for over a record number of years from 1996 to 2012. Bardhan took part in the freedom movement as a member of the All India Students Federation and later associated himself with the trade union movement out of Nagpur, going on to become general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress. He won an election just once, to the Maharashtra Assembly, in 1957 as an Independent. After losing several elections, he moved to Delhi in the 1990s and got involved in national politics. When the United Front (UF) government took over in 1996 and late CPI leader Indrajit Gupta became Home Minister, he resigned as CPI general secretary and paved the way for Mr. Bardhan. A veteran leader of CPI and a leading light in Indian politics is no more. His loss created a big vacuum in the Indian political circle and trade movement.
Nickhil Maniam
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
