Kolkata: Left Front leader and former fire minister Pratim Chatterjee died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Salt Lake on Sunday morning. He was 79.

A widower, Chatterjee is survived by his daughter: Kuheli Ghosh. He also popular for acting.

Mourning his death Trinamul Congress supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in twitter, “Saddened at the passing of former Minister of Bengal, Pratim Chattopadhyay.

Condolences to his family and well wishers.” Chatterjee, who was the president of Left Front constituent Marxist Forward Bloc, was suffering from respiratory distress. He recently underwent treatment at a private hospital in Salt Lake for around a month. His son in-law Dibyojyoti Ghosh said that Chatterjee was released from there on March 14.

He said, “He complained of discomfort on Sunday morning. He was rushed to the same hospital where he suffered a cardiac arrest at around 10.15 am and he died.”

Chatterjee, who was elected from the Tarakeswar Assembly constituency in Hooghly, was the state fire services minister during the CPI(M)-led Left Front regime from 1996 to 2011 for 15 years. Mourning his death CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb said, “Marxist Forward Bloc has been an ally of the Left Front since beginning. In the later term he was a full-time minister. He was also a member of the Left Front committee.”