As the hearse carrying Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s mortal remains rolled in through the gates through which the former chief minister of Bengal had last entered the Assembly in January 2011, young and old legislators across political divides and Assembly staff members gathered around for a final adieu.

At exactly 11am, a white vehicle halted in front of the main gate of the Assembly. The mortal remains of the former leader of the House, draped in the red flag of communists and adorned with red roses, were carefully lifted from beneath a glass cover and placed on a small bed near the Assembly’s main entrance — a door that had witnessed many an entry and exit of the bhadralok (gentleman) Marxist in his spotless white dhoti-kurta for decades since the 1970s.

“When I heard about his demise yesterday, I could not control myself. I went to his home and paid my respects. I have seen him as a member of the Assembly and also as the chief minister. There was hardly any difference. Speaker Halim Saheb (Hashim Abdul Halim) was older than him, and so he used to call Buddhababu by his name. Many times, I have seen Halim Sir saying ‘Buddha, go and sit in your chamber. I will call you later’. The relationships within the Assembly had a personal touch, free of lofty protocol,” said a senior marshal, part of the security staff, who had seen Bhattacharjee in his prime.

Amid slogans from his party comrades, vowing to finish realising his unfinished dreams for Bengal, the state’s parliamentary affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay — who shared a long association with Bhattacharjee, despite being in rival parties — was the first to walk across the green carpet to place a white wreath on his chest.

“To me, he was never a leader I was politically opposed to. He was so much more than that. I shared a personal relationship, which is much nobler than the political differences. His going away is a personal loss to me,” Chattopadhyay said, fighting back tears.

Chattopadhyay was followed by Speaker Biman Banerjee, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, senior ministers such as Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Shashi Panja, leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and Opposition chief whip Sankar Ghosh. Countless others from the Assembly silently walked up to Bhattacharjee’s mortal remains to pay their last tributes.

Adhikari walked up to the deceased Marxist veteran’s wife Meera Bhattacharjee, who was seated near the head of the body, and their son, Suchetan Bhattacharjee, to offer his condolences.

Seniors in the state administration were also among those who paid their tributes to Bhattacharjee.

“Whenever he came to the Assembly, we had the added responsibility of serving him laal cha (black tea) every hour. Often, after his tea, he would walk out to the balcony for a smoke. Watching him during those moments was quite an experience to remember,” said a senior Assembly official.

“Opposition leaders would often seize the chance to approach him for a personal conversation. Even an MLA who had just criticised the government in the House was always greeted with a warm smile,” he added. “This is truly the utterly regrettable end of a glorious era.”