Tarun Gogoi

Tarun Gogoi
Chief Minister of Assam
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 May 2001
Preceded by Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Member of Legislative Assembly
Titabar
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 September 2001
Preceded by Dip Gogoi
Member of Parliament
Kaliabor
In office
1998–2002
Preceded by Keshab Mahanta
Succeeded by Dip Gogoi
Member of Legislative Assembly
Margherita
In office
1996–1998
Preceded by Kul Bahadur Chetri
Succeeded by Pradyut Bordoloi
Member of Parliament
Kaliabor
In office
1991–1996
Preceded by Bhadreswar Tanti
Succeeded by Keshab Mahanta
Member of Parliament
Jorhat
In office
1971–1985
Preceded by Rajendranath Barua
Succeeded by Parag Chaliha
Personal details
Born 1 April 1936[1]
Jorhat, British Raj (present-day Assam, India)
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse(s) Dolly Gogoi
Children Two
Alma mater Gauhati University
Religion Hinduism
Website Tarun Gogoi

Tarun Gogoi (born 1 April 1936)[1] is an Indian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of Assam since 2001.[2] He is a member of the Indian National Congress and has led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in Assam. He completed 13 consecutive years as Chief Minister of Assam on 18 May 2014.[2]

Early life

Born on 1 April 1936 in an ethnic Tai-Ahom family at Rangajan Tea Estate, erstwhile Sivasagar District, now Jorhat District of Assam.[3][4][5]

His father, Dr Kamaleshwar Gogoi[4] was a medical practitioner at Rangajan Tea Estate[4] and his mother, Usha Gogoi, younger sister of the renowned poet, late Ganesh Gogoi, was known for her collection of poetry, Hiyar Samahar (Heart’s Treasures).[4][5]

Fondly called Punakon by his parents, Tarun Gogoi began his primary education at the No.26 Rangajan Nimna Buniyadi Vidyalaya (lower foundation school). From there he moved on to Jorhat Madrassa School where he studied up to class IV, and then moved to Bholaguri High School located near Badulipar Tea Estate where he studied till class VI. In 1949, young Gogoi was enrolled at the Jorhat Government High School, from where he passed the HSLC Examination. He did his graduation from Jagannath Barooah College, located at Jorhat District, of Assam and after that he did LLB from Gauhati University, Assam. He is designated as an alumnus of the prestigious Jagannath Barooah College, Jorhat.[5]

Personal life

Tarun Gogoi married Dolly Gogoi on 30 July 1972. Dolly Gogoi is a post-graduate in Zoology from Gauhati University. They have two children; daughter Chandrima, an MBA and son, Gaurav Gogoi, a member of parliament from Kaliabar, who holds a degree in Public Administration from New York University.[5]

Political career

Gogoi has served six terms as a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Lok Sabha. He first represented Jorhat in 1971–85. Later Gogoi was elected from Kaliabor (1991–96/1998–2002).[5] The Kaliabor seat is currently held by his younger cousin Dip Gogoi.

Gogoi became a political leader with national stature after he was elected Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1976 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[5][6] He later served as General Secretary of the AICC (1985–90) under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.[5] Gogoi served in the Union Cabinet of India under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao as Union Minister of State in the Food and Food Processing Industry departments (1991–96).[3]

Gogoi served as the President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) in 1986–90.[3] He was elected to a second term as President in 1996. Gogoi has since served four terms as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the legislature of Assam. He first represented Margherita constituency in the legislature in 1996–98. Gogoi has represented the Titabar constituency since 2001.[3]

Gogoi was elected Chief Minister of Assam in 2001 after he led the Indian National Congress to victory in the state elections.[3] He has since led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in the state as Chief Minister. But outcome of the recent Lok Sabha has put him in hard time managing his own cabinet colleagues. congress could win only 3 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats from Assam. On the other hand BJP got 7 seats, which is the highest seats won by the party in any other Lok Sabha election in Assam. Before the election, Gogoi had declared that he would resign from the post of Chief Minister if the congress party gets less than 7 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats.[7] Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi did a Manmohan Singh on 21 July 2014 indicating that he may not be at the helm of the party in the 2016 Assembly elections. [8][9]

Position held in the past

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 TNN Oct 12, 2012, 05.29AM IST (2012-10-12). "Quiet celebration on Gogoi birthday - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 sentinelassam.com May 23, 2013, 12.35PM IST (2013-05-17). "Tarun Gogoi : Leading from the front - The Sentinel". sentinelassam.com. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "About Chief Minister of Assam". Government of Assam. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Hussain, Wasbir (2010). Tarun Gogoi – the inside story of a blunt politician. Wordweaves India, Guwahati. pp. 11–55. ISBN 978-81-909903-2-5.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 R.C., Rajamani (2000). Portraits of India's Parliamentarians for the New Millennium: Lok Sabha. Gyan Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-8121207027.
  6. ↑ "Assam CM Tarun Gogoi's official biography released". Times of India. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Congress juggernaut decimates AGP, BJP in Assam". Hindustan Times. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Tarun Gogoi may opt out by 2016". ABP Live. June 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Anger against Tarun Gogoi increases, 32 MLAs resign". Patrika Group (21 July 2014). Retrieved 21 July 2014.
Preceded by
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta		 Chief Minister of Assam
17 May 2001 – present 		Succeeded by
incumbent