Assam's most popular Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi once said that he is a Congressman and will remain a Congressman till his last breath. He continued to die in his own words. Gogoi died at the age of 84 on Monday. The Congress leader, who became Chief Minister for the first time in 2001, said that he was confident that he would remain CM for five years, but he never thought that his popularity would be such that he would serve the state as Chief Minister for three consecutive times. will do.
Gogoi always went ahead and led Assam. The credit for bringing several militant organizations, including ULFA, to the negotiating table goes to Gogoi. Gogoi also did the work of bringing Assam out of the trap of corruption on the path of development. When Gogoi took power from the Assam Gana Parishad in 2001, he had a big responsibility to take the state out of insurgency and financial instability.
Assam was under heavy debt. The situation was so bad that even the government employees were not getting their salaries on time. During his Chief Minister's tenure, there were many ups and downs. When Gogoi became Chief Minister for the third time, he had to face discontent within the party. As a result, the party had to face defeat in the 2016 assembly elections. This dissatisfaction was led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, close to Gogoi, though Gogoi continued to hold his post. Later Sarma joined BJP and took nine MLAs with him. This dealt a major blow to Gogoi and the Congress.
Jawaharlal Nehru was impressed
Tarun Gogoi was highly influenced by the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru visited Jorhat in 1952 when Gogoi was in the tenth grade. Since then, he started taking part in political activities. Gogoi was an active member of the Bharatiya Yuva Samaj, Assam, and joined the Congress in 1963. Since then, he remained loyal to the Congress. He always supported Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi.
Father wanted to make a doctor
Born in Kamleshwar Gogoi and Usha Gogoi's home in the Jorhat district of Assam on April 1, 1936, Tarun Gogoi wanted his father to be a doctor. But he was interested in politics. After finishing his schooling, Gogoi enrolled in political science at Jagannath Barua College. After graduation, he enrolled in law at Allahabad University but fell ill there. He then returned to Assam and took a law degree from Guwahati University.
First MP in 1971
Gogoi started his political career winning the Jorhat body elections in 1968. Gogoi was elected for the first time in 1971 from the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat. He was a frequent MP from here from 1971 to 1984. He was followed by Lok Sabha MP from Kaliabor from 1991-96 and from 1998 to 2000. In the 2001 assembly election, he contested Titabar's seat and won by record votes. In the 2006 and 2011 assembly elections, the Congress under his leadership also registered a thumping victory in the state and Tarun Gogoi holds the record for being the longest-serving Chief Minister of the state (18 May 2001 to 24 May 2016).