Prafulla Kumar Mahanta

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian Politician who was the leader of the Assam Movement, a former Chief Minister of Assam (two terms) and the former President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a major political party in the Indian state of Assam.[2] He became the chief minister in the state when the AGP came to power in 1985, becoming the youngest Chief Minister of an Indian state.[3]

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
Member of Legislative Assembly
Barhampur
Assumed office
1991
Preceded byGirindra Kumar Baruah
ConstituencyBarhampur
Member of Legislative Assembly
In office
1985–1990
Preceded byMukut Sharma
Succeeded byMukut Sharma
ConstituencyNowgong Sadar Assembly Constituency
14th Chief Minister of Assam
In office
15 May 1996 – 17 May 2001
Preceded byBhumidhar Barman
Succeeded byTarun Gogoi
In office
24 December 1985 – 28 November 1990
Preceded byHiteswar Saikia
Succeeded byPresident's Rule
President, Asom Gana Parishad
In office
26 April 2012 – 14 July 2014
Preceded byChandra Mohan Patowary
Succeeded byAtul Bora
In office
December, 1985 – 6 September 2001
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byBrindaban Goswami
Personal details
Born (1952-12-23) 23 December 1952
Uluoni, Assam, India
Political partyAsom Gana Parishad
Spouse(s)Dr. Joyasree Goswami Mahanta
ChildrenTwo sons & One daughter
ResidenceGuwahati, Assam
Alma materGauhati University (B.Sc.), Gauhati University (LLB)[1]

He served as the chief minister of the state for two terms, 1985–1990 and 1996–2001. He is a former president of the All Assam Students Union, an organization that spearheaded the Assam Movement between 1979–1985. In August 2005, his membership in the AGP was terminated. He floated a new political party, Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive) on 15 September 2005.

Despite allegations of secret killings he organized against families of ULFA members, documented in the report by the Saikia Commission to the Assam Assembly, Mahanta was missed from political leadership in the state. He was reinducted into the AGP after the AGP (Progressive) was dissolved during the Presidency of Chandra Mohan Patowary, and regained a prominent position in the party.

In a 2010 interview on NDTV's Walk the Talk with Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief of The Indian Express, Mahanta said:

"For the sake of the integrity and security of India, we are ready to take any blame. If the insurgent groups attack our forces, then they (the security forces) must have the right to respond. However, the charge against me on extra judicial killings of the ULFA sympathisers is to malign my image."[4]

In the same interview, he said that unknown agencies of the Congress Party had conspired in massacres during the Assam Movement in the early eighties.

On 4 September 2010 he was unanimously elected as the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly.

Aside from the current chief minister of the state, Mahanta is regarded as the most powerful and influential politician of Assam.

On 21 October 2013, representatives from eleven political parties of the North-east region met to form a new political front, the North-East Regional Political Front (NERPF), to protect the interests of the region's people. Mahanta was appointed the front's chief adviser.[5]

On 14 July 2014 he resigned as president of Asom Gana Parishad after its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.[2]

See also

Reference
  1. MEMBER OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (M.L.A.), ASSAM
  2. "Former Assam CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta resigns as AGP chief". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  3. Mahanta takes on Congress heavyweight
  4. Walk the talk with pk mahanta
  5. INDIA 11 northeast parties join hands ahead of Lok Sabha polls, form front

4. http://www.elections.in/assam/assembly-constituencies/nowgong.html

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