Hooghly, 12 January (H.S.): Senior PDS leader Samir Putatunda passed away late Sunday night. He was 74 years old. He had been hospitalized for the past few days due to age-related ailments. He breathed his last at around 11:15 pm. His younger brother, Sanjay Putatunda, confirmed his death.

Born in 1952, Samir Putatunda began his political career with the CPM's student wing. He rose through the ranks, holding important positions in the party, including secretary of the South 24 Parganas district. Later, due to differences over the party's political line, he was expelled from the CPM. Following this, he co-founded the PDS (Party for Democratic Socialism) with Saifuddin Chowdhury.

Samir Putatunda's wife, Anuradha Putatunda, was also a full-time CPM worker and later joined the PDS. During the Singur-Nandigram land movement, Samir and Anuradha were close to Mamata Banerjee, although they later distanced themselves politically.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences on his passing, saying that she had worked with Samir Putatunda during the Singur-Nandigram movement and that his death felt like a personal loss.

Samir Putatunda was known as an ideological leader. While his party, the PDS, did not achieve electoral success, he always maintained his independent political identity.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey