GUWAHATI, Nov 23 - From the Rangamati Tea Estate where he was born to attaining spectacular political heights, Tarun Gogoi, a leader of the masses, always had his feet rooted firmly to the ground � an attribute that earned him immeasurable love and respect from the people. Born on October 11, 1934 (though his date of birth in official documents is mentioned as April 1, 1936), at Rangamati, Jorhat, to Dr Kamaleswar Gogoi and Usha Gogoi, the veteran leader did his higher studies from JB College, Jorhat, and the Gauhati University. An advocate by profession, Gogoi�s political career spanned over several decades. He served in a number of positions, both in Assam and New Delhi, as a Congress party member as well as an elected representative.
His first brush with politics began when he got elected as vice president of JB College Students� Union. Later in 1968, he became a member of the Jorhat Municipal Board. Gogoi was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977 and repeated the feat in 1983 from the Jorhat constituency. He was very close to the Nehru-Gandhi family and had very close relations with former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and later with Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi. He was appointed as joint secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1976 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was elevated to the rank of AICC general secretary in 1985. Following the signing of the Assam Accord and AGP�s capture of power in Dispur, Gogoi served as the president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) between 1986 and 1990. That was the time when the Congress party went through a very difficult phase in Assam but Gogoi succeeded in reviving the grand old party�s fortunes in the State.
In the 1991 General Elections, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha, this time from the Kaliabor constituency. Gogoi served as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Food and later as Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Food Processing Industry during the government headed by the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
After he lost the 1996 Lok Sabha polls, Gogoi contested Assembly byelection from the Margherita constituency and became a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly for the first time.
Gogoi again assumed charge of the APCC that same year, after the Congress party lost the Assembly elections and the AGP came to power for a second term.
He again went back to national politics by winning the 1998 General Elections from Kaliabor.
During 1998-99, he served as member of various parliamentary committees, including the Committee on Government Assurances, the Committee on External Affairs and in the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
He was re-elected for a sixth Lok Sabha term in the parliamentary polls of 1999 and served as a member of the Committee on Railways.
This long innings in New Delhi as well as in the Congress party prepared him for what came next, when Gogoi assumed charge as the Chief Minister of Assam on May 18, 2001, after the grand old party won the Assembly elections.
During his first term, Gogoi was able to bring back some semblance of normalcy to a State that had witnessed large scale militancy as well as financial chaos during the late 1990s. Developmental work also gained momentum during his first tenure. The financial situation of Assam also improved tremendously.
However, despite all this, the Congress party failed to win a majority on its own in the 2006 Assembly elections. Gogoi had to take the help of the BPF to cobble together a majority and form a government in Dispur. On May 14, 2006, he assumed the office of Chief Minister of Assam for a second consecutive term.
His governance record during his second term was appreciated by voters of Assam, who re-elected the Congress party to power once again in the 2011 Assembly polls with a very large majority. Gogoi assumed office as Chief Minister for a third consecutive term on May 18, 2011.
However, his third term in office was marred by dissidence within the Congress party and his government also faced various corruption charges. These tarnished the image of the government, though Gogoi�s name personally never figured in any of the scams.
The rise of the BJP under Narendra Modi and dissidence within the Congress hampered the grand old party. The Congress lost the 2016 Assembly polls and Gogoi relinquished the post of Chief Minister after serving in that post for 15 consecutive years. He, however, was re-elected from his Titabor constituency and continued to serve as a legislator till his death.
Admired by one and all, Gogoi�s contribution to Assam�s politics is significant. During his term in office as the Chief Minister, Gogoi had many noteworthy achievements to his credit. Among the most significant was to curb militancy, bring law and order to Assam, and start decisive peace talks with insurgent groups like ULFA, BLT, DHD, and NDFB, among others.
Gogoi was also instrumental in starting the update work of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). It was during his tenure that the 33rd National Games were hosted in Guwahati in 2007 as well as the South Asian Games in 2016.
Guwahati for the first time became a destination for hosting major national and international events during Gogoi�s regime � a period that saw substantial augmentation to the State�s infrastructure, including airports, roadways, rural roads, broadband connectivity, etc.
Gogoi was very vocal on all issues and never shied away from expressing his views, even though at times that resulted in generation of controversies. He remained socially and politically active till the end.
