COMRADE A B Bardhan belonged to that generation of Communist leaders who came into the Communist party during the last decade of the struggle for independence. Bardhan joined the party in 1940 at the age of 15. The student movement during the anti-imperialist struggle and the post-war upsurge of mass struggles in the country shaped the political outlook of the young Bardhan. Like many young Communists in Bombay province at that time, he became an organiser of the working class after his militant role in the student movement. It is through his trade union activities in those early years that he imbibed the class outlook essential for a leader of the working class movement. Later, in his various responsibilities as leader of the electricity workers and other sectors, Bardhan strove for a united working class movement. In the short period when he was the general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, (he had to relinquish this position in 1996 when he became the general secretary of the CPI), Bardhan provided an impetus to trade union unity. The Sponsoring Committee of Trade Unions and the broader National Platform of Mass Organisations were both active during this period. The September 24 general strike called by the Sponsoring Committee and the massive united protest in Delhi against the Dunkel Draft of the GATT occurred during his tenure as the general secretary of the AITUC. It is this organic concept of working class unity which underlined Bardhan’s deep commitment to Left unity. As general secretary of the CPI from 1996 onwards, Bardhan worked to deepen Left unity and strengthen cooperation with the CPI(M). In the period 1996 to 2004, Bardhan worked closely with Harkishan Singh Surjeet, then general secretary of the CPI(M), to widen cooperation and joint work between the two parties. This happened despite the fact that the CPI had decided to join the United Front government unlike the CPI(M), which did not join the government. There were occasions when differences emerged between the two parties on immediate tactical positions to be taken, but with Bardhan at the helm of the CPI, it was possible to iron out these differences or to come to some mutual understanding of each other’s positions. It was Bardhan’s deep conviction that CPI(M)-CPI unity has to be the bedrock of a strong Left movement which made him a target of criticism from certain quarters. They even alleged that Bardhan was making the CPI into an adjunct of the CPI(M). This was an unfair and motivated allegation as Bardhan would always put the CPI stand firmly, irrespective of whether the CPI(M) agreed with it or not. What was characteristic about Bardhan, however, was that he never let differences of opinion or tactics overshadow the overall quest for closer cooperation and unity. I had the opportunity to work closely with Bardhan when I became the general secretary of the CPI(M) in 2005. At that time, the Left parties were extending support to the UPA government from outside. It was a time when there had to be regular consultations and working out a joint Left stand on various policy issues and questions concerning the UPA government. The UPA-Left Coordination Committee required that the CPI(M) and the CPI constantly work out a common approach which could also be taken as the Left position to the people. Bardhan was clear-eyed and had no illusions about the nature of the government and the class direction of its policies. When the government decided to disinvest shares in the BHEL, a navaratna public sector undertaking, Bardhan had no hesitation in accepting the proposal that the Left should boycott the Coordination Committee until the step was withdrawn. He would put forth the positions of the Left on various policy questions forthrightly and would not soft-pedal them under any pressure. We developed a high degree of mutual trust and comradeship during that period. In his last years, Bardhan concentrated his energies on preparing a new draft programme of the CPI. The stroke that he suffered in January 2015 did not prevent him from finishing the work and formally presenting it at the CPI Congress held in Puducherry in March 2015. In the context of the programmatic differences between the two parties, this programme represents an advance. This last endeavour of Bardhan will have a bearing on any future efforts for achieving a greater level of Communist unity. Bardhan was a leader who was never allured by the trappings of power, pelf or patronage. His life style was that of a Communist and a working class leader. There was, in Bardhan, another virtue, he was frank and forthright and had no guile or pretense. He was a prime example of how Marxism shapes the character and actions of a Communist leader.