Agartala, August 8:
Tripura on Saturday bid an emotional farewell to Gauri Bhattacharjee, the state’s first woman legislator, who died at the age of 95 at her residence near Chinaihani on Airport Road in the early hours.
Bhattacharjee, a CPI(M) leader, was elected from the Barjala Assembly constituency in 1977 and served as a legislator until 1983. Remembered as a gentle, disciplined and committed political worker, she remained associated with the party and public life for decades after her tenure in the Assembly.
Her mortal remains were brought to the Tripura Legislative Assembly premises, where legislators cutting across political affiliations gathered to pay their last respects.
Deputy Speaker Ram Prasad Pal, Ministers Sushanta Chowdhury, Sudhangshu Das, Tinku Roy and Santana Chakma, besides Left MLAs Nayan Sarkar, Sudip Sarkar and Dipankar Sen and others, paid floral tributes to the departed former legislator.
Minister Sushanta Chowdhury described Bhattacharjee as an honest and experienced politician who had discharged her responsibilities with sincerity.
“Today, we have lost an honest and experienced politician,” Chowdhury said, extending condolences to her family and recalling her contribution as a legislator from Barjala.
He said that although the younger generation may not be fully familiar with her work, Bhattacharjee was known as an amiable person who had worked with the welfare of people in mind.
A solemn tribute was also paid to her during a meeting of the Assembly’s Select Committee, where members from different political parties and senior officials were present. A condolence resolution was moved and the gathering observed a minute’s silence in her memory.
From the Assembly, Bhattacharjee’s mortal remains were taken to the CPI(M) state headquarters, where former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, former Power Minister and senior CPI(M) leader Manik Dey, former MP Shankar Prasad Datta and other party leaders paid their last respects.
Recalling her long association with the Left movement, Manik Dey said Bhattacharya had been connected with the party since the 1970s and played an important role in organising women and strengthening the party’s presence at the grassroots.
“She had a significant role in organising women and building the movement,” Dey said, recalling how she travelled to different parts of the state and worked to bring women into the political and democratic movement.
He said her commitment to the party did not end with her electoral tenure. Even in advanced age, she remained interested in the party’s activities and regularly enquired about programmes, organisational developments and the situation in different areas.
Bhattacharjee also played a role in encouraging younger party workers and sharing her experience with a new generation of leaders, Dey said, describing this as part of her enduring contribution to the organisation.
Her political journey, according to Dey, was marked by simplicity, integrity and dedication. Despite her age and declining health, she remained respected among party workers and people who knew her.
Gauri Bhattacharjee died at her residence early Saturday, bringing to an end the life of a pioneering woman politician whose public journey began at a time when women’s representation in Tripura’s electoral politics was still in its infancy.
The CPI(M) state and district committees expressed deep grief over her death and recalled her contribution to the democratic movement and the party’s organisation in Tripura.
Her passing marks the end of a significant chapter in the political history of the state. As the first woman to enter the Tripura Legislative Assembly, Bhattacharjee’s legacy extends beyond her six-year tenure in the House — to the generations of women and political workers she helped bring into public life.
