West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that senior Trinamool Congress politician Subrata Mukherjee died on Thursday while being treated for heart illness at a state-run hospital in Kolkata.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that senior Trinamool Congress politician Subrata Mukherjee died on Thursday while being treated for heart illness at a state-run hospital in Kolkata.

Mukherjee, the state panchayat minister, was 75 years old. His wife is the only one who has survived him.

Mukherjee oversaw three other departments as well.

According to state minister Firhad Hakim, the senior lawmaker who had angioplasty earlier this week died at 9.22 p.m. after suffering a major heart attack.

While celebrating Kali Puja at her Kalighat house, the chief minister paid a visit to the SSKM Hospital and revealed that he was no longer alive.

"I still can't believe he is no longer with us. He was such a dedicated party leader. It is a personal loss for me," she said.

On Friday, his remains will be transported to Rabindra Sadan, a government-owned theatre, where the public may pay their respects. Ms Banerjee stated that it will thereafter be carried to his Ballygunge residence and ultimately to his ancestral home.

The minister, according to medical sources, suffered a 'stent thrombosis,' which is one of the deadly consequences of percutaneous coronary intervention.

Mukherjee, who was sent to the hospital on October 24 for respiratory issues, had two stents placed into his clogged arteries on November 1, according to reports.

He was afflicted with excessive blood sugar, COPD, and other age-related diseases.

In May, after being arrested and sentenced in connection with the Narada sting tape case, the former Kolkata mayor was hospitalised with identical symptoms. He had been released on bond.

During Indira Gandhi's second stint as Prime Minister in the 1970s, Mukherjee was a rising Congress politician from West Bengal. Somen Mitra and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, two other Congress politicians, had formed a trident with him.

In 2010 and 2008, Mukherjee and Mitra joined Mamata Banerjee's party, respectively. In 2014, Mitra rejoined his former party, but Mukherjee remained with the TMC. Dasmunsi died in 2017 and Mitra died in 2020, respectively.

"I have faced many disasters in my life but this is a very big blow. I do not think there will be another man like Subrata da who was such a nice and hard-working person. The party and his constituency (Ballygunge) were his soul. I will not be able to see Subrata da's body. This evening the principal of the hospital told me that Subrata da is fine and he will be going back home tomorrow. Doctors tried their best," Ms Banerjee said.

"This is a big loss for West Bengal. It feels like I have lost my elder brother. A few days back, I went to see him in the hospital and spoke to him. It's a big loss for Indian politics," said West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury. 

Dr Sukanta Majumdar, the BJP's West Bengal president, termed Mukherjee's death as the end of a golden period in Bengal politics, saying, "It's definitely very sad. He was the youngest Cabinet minister in the Siddhartha Shankar Ray government. From then till today, he was a popular politician. May his soul rest in peace."

Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, a senior CPI(M) leader and former Kolkata mayor, remarked, "He is a politician of the bygone era. He has always been a smiling personality and an intelligent politician. We may have certain differences of opinion but I consider him as one of the best politicians of Bengal I have ever seen."