Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee passed away while he was admitted at a state-run hospital for treatment of cardiac ailments in Kolkata on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Mukherjee, the state panchayat minister, died at 75. He is survived by his wife. Mukherjee oversaw three other departments as well. “The veteran politician who underwent angioplasty early this week, died at 9.22 PM after suffering a massive cardiac arrest,” state minister Firhad Hakim said.

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Mamata Banerjee 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 body will be taken to Rabindra Sadan, a government-owned theatre, where the public can pay their respects. Ms Banerjee added that it will thereafter be carried to his Ballygunge residence and ultimately to his ancestral home. 

The minister, according to NDTV’s hospital sources, suffered a ‘stent thrombosis,’ which is one of the fatal complications of percutaneous coronary intervention. 

Mukherjee, who was admitted to the hospital on October 24 for respiratory problems, had two stents inserted into his blocked arteries on November 1, according to sources.

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

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

During Indira Gandhi’s second stint as Prime Minister in the 1970s, Mukherjee was a rising Congress leader 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 old party, but Mukherjee remained with the TMC.

“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.

Adhir Chowdhury, the president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress, expressed his condolences as well.

“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,” he said.

Dr Sukanta Majumdar, the BJP’s West Bengal president, termed Mukherjee’s death as the end of a great era in Bengal politics.

“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.”

Senior CPI(M) leader and former Kolkata mayor Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said, “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 Benal I have ever seen.”