Tarun Gogoi: Man of grand vision and people’s leader who led Assam from the front

Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi died from post-COVID problems on Monday. Arguably some of the standard leaders, he had as soon as mentioned, “I am a Congressman and will be so till the last breath of my life.”

READ | Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi passes away in Guwahati

The 84-year previous veteran Congressman remained true to his phrases until the very finish and was a Nehru-Gandhi household loyalist. He strode like a colossus within the political enviornment, main Assam from the entrance together with his sharp mind and a blunt manner.

READ | PM Modi, President condole dying of Tarun Gogoi

On assuming the reins of Assam for the primary time in 2001, the Congress chief had mentioned he was assured of holding workplace for 5 years however by no means imagined his reputation will guarantee he occupied the place for 3 successive phrases. Credited with bringing the varied militant outfits, together with the dreaded ULFA, to the negotiating desk, hauling out Assam from the brink of chapter and placing it again on the monitor of growth, Gogoi’s three phrases in workplace have been marked by many highs and some lows.

During his third stint, nonetheless, he needed to face dissidence inside the get together, which lastly resulted within the ouster of the Congress from energy within the 2016 meeting elections. The dissent was led by his former blue-eyed protege and highly effective politician Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was mentioned to harbour chief ministerial ambitions, however the veteran Congress chief steered previous all obstacles and continued to carry workplace by effecting a reshuffle within the ministry.

Shortly thereafter, Sarma resigned from the get together and the meeting, and joined the BJP, taking alongside 9 MLAs who have been near him. This dealt a physique blow to each Gogoi and the Assam Congress. Undaunted, the six-time MP stood tall as an opposition chief, elevating his voice towards the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and points associated to the implementation of National Register of Citizens an train that left numerous folks of Assam, significantly Muslims, traumatised.

Days earlier than he was identified with COVID-19, Gogoi was actively holding parleys with opposition events to kind a grand alliance to tackle the ruling BJP within the subsequent meeting elections. His attribute smile and positive method was writ giant on his face when he boarded the ambulance to go to the hospital after testing positive for the an infection and had even issued an audio clip from the hospital not too long ago the place he pledged to serve all sections of the Assamese society until the very finish.

Notwithstanding the genial smile, Gogoi, who additionally served as a union minister twice, possessed uncommon political acumen and got here throughout as a visionary who meant critical enterprise. Barring sporadic incidents of violence, largely perpetrated by the NDFB(S), and the Bodo-Muslim battle, Gogoi’s third time period in workplace was comparatively peaceable.

Gogoi took over the reins of Assam for the primary time on May 17, 2001, from Asom Gana Parishad and was confronted with the onerous activity of bringing the state out of the morass of militancy and monetary instability attributable to an enormous debt burden with even authorities staff not receiving their salaries on time.

He had talked about in his memoir “Turnaround”, revealed in 2016, that he knew “in taking the oath and signing the register, my first signature as the chief minister, I would be signing a pledge of responsibility. In carrying out my duties, I would be shaping Assam’s future”.

The Congress stalwart’s initiatives on this course paid dividends with the get together returning to energy for the second consecutive time period, albeit with fewer seats, and forming a authorities in alliance with its coalition associate Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF). Gogoi’s second time period as chief minister was marked by a number of highs and lows. The multi-crore North Cachar Hills fund diversion scheme rip-off left his dispensation red-faced, however he efficiently managed to salvage its picture by bringing a number of militant organisations just like the ULFA, NDFB (Pro-talk group), DHD, UPDS and others to the negotiating desk.

Plagued by ill-health over the past yr of his second time period, Gogoi underwent three sophisticated coronary heart surgical procedures — bypass, aortic valve alternative and enlargement of the aorta process — at Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute. The feisty chief needed to get his pacemaker changed only a few weeks earlier than he hit the marketing campaign path for the 2011 meeting polls. None of that deterred him from finishing up his tasks.

During the 2016 meeting polls, Gogoi addressed the very best variety of public rallies and conferences, with out batting an eyelid, regardless of Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning on a number of events that he (Gogoi) was “too old and must go”.

A practical politician, who took each achievements and failure in his stride, had mentioned, “When the history of Assam is penned, my three terms will show up both positives as well as negatives. There will be bouquets and brickbats, criticism and acclaim. But I will leave history to judge these years. I, as a son of the soil, am only content and gratified that I could take centre stage in the turn-around story”.

Although he loved the boldness of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Gogoi’s journey to the state’s prime submit was scripted with nice perseverance.

Born within the sylvan environment of the Rangajan Tea Estate to physician Kamleswar Gogoi and his spouse Usha Gogoi on April 1, 1936, in Upper Assam’s Jorhat district, Gogoi had an idyllic childhood enjoying on the sprawling property together with his 5 siblings. Gogoi’s penchant for politics took roots early in life and although his father had needed him to check medication or engineering, he had set his coronary heart on politics, even as soon as saying to one in all his academics that he needed to change into the prime minister when he grew up.

“It is true that I got ingrained in the Congress ideology as I grew up, but my basic objective has been to serve the people of Assam and the country. Yes, I have chosen politics as the medium to achieve my primary objective,” he had as soon as mentioned. Highly impressed with prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who visited Jorhat in 1952, Gogoi, then a scholar of Class 10, started participating in varied political actions, and far to the annoyance of his father and academics didn’t clear his High School Leaving examination that yr. He managed to get an honest rating the subsequent yr as a personal candidate.

After leaving faculty, he joined the Jagannath Barooah College the place he plunged into scholar politics, and following his commencement, joined the Allahabad University to pursue a legislation diploma. He, nonetheless, fell sick and returned to Assam to pursue his legislation diploma from Gauhati University.

Gogoi, an lively chief of the Assam unit of Bharat Yuvak Samaj, joined the Congress in 1963 and since then had been a celebration loyalist, pledging his help to Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi after which Sonia Gandhi. He additionally served the get together as AICC basic secretary and joint secretary within the 1980s, and headed the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee twice from 1986-90 and once more from 1996 to 2001.

His foray into electoral politics started when he gained civic polls and was appointed a member of the Jorhat Municipal Board in 1968. Subsequently, in 1971, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for the primary time from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency.

An ardent sports activities lover, Gogoi performed golf repeatedly, although he regretted not getting sufficient time to pursue his interest as typically as he would have appreciated. He keenly adopted cricket, soccer and tennis. He was additionally keen on studying, gardening, and loved purchasing for his garments and equipment.

Affable and simply accessible, Gogoi’s jovial aspect got here to the fore when he took half in festivals and performed the drum at Bihu pandals. On one explicit event, he gained many hearts as he performed the drum whereas Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal hummed a music. He was typically seen obliging folks with selfies at public occasions.

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An out-and-out household man, Gogoi married Dolly, a post-graduate in zoology from Gauhati University, in 1972. They have two children- daughter, Chandrima, an MBA who lives overseas together with her household, and son Gaurav, who represents the Kaliabor constituency and at present the deputy chief of the Congress in Lok Sabha.

with PTI inputs