Jyoti Basu

India's longest serving Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal between 1977-2000.

Born on 8 July 1914, Basu is a Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He graduated from the Presidency College, before going to London to study law. Upon his return to India in 1940, he became involved with the Communist Party of India.

He was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946 and when the Communist Party of India split in 1964, Basu became a leader of the new Communist Party of India (Marxist).

He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal between June 21, 1977 and November 6, 2000. He missed becoming India's Prime Minister in 1997.

He resigned from the post of Chief Minister in 2000 citing health reasons and was succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.

He was re-elected to the CPI(M) politburo at its 18th session held in Delhi in 2005.

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