Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee alongwith a host of political leaders belonging to her party and the Congress, joined the last journey of former West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who will be cremated in Kolkata on Sunday evening.

The body of Ray, who died on Saturday night following protracted kidney ailment, would be taken to the state Assembly, Calcutta High Court, CAB and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan before being consigned to flames at Keoratala Crematorium, officials said.

Ray’s body was kept at his Beltola residence in south Kolkata for people to pay their last respects to the departed leader till 1:30 PM.

Ray, a close friend of former chief minister late Jyoti Basu, was elected as the chief minister in 1972.

The Congress veteran, a former Punjab Governor, had also served as the Indian Ambassador to the US.

A confidant of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 70s, he was appointed union minister (in-charge of West Bengal affairs) by her in 1971.

Ray was a grandson of revolutionary freedom fighter Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das.