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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{multiple issues|
{{essay-like|date=December 2012}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2011}}
}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
| image = The former Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Prafulla Kumar Mahanta calling on the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma, in New Delhi on July 20, 2017 (cropped).jpg
| order = 11th
| office = Chief Minister of Assam
| governor = [[Lokanath Misra]] [[Srinivas Kumar Sinha]]
| term_start = 15 May 1996
| term_end = 17 May 2001
| predecessor = [[Bhumidhar Barman]]
| successor = [[Tarun Gogoi]]
| governor1 = [[Bhishma Narain Singh]] [[Hari Dev Joshi]] [[Anisetti Raghuvir]] [[Devi Das Thakur]]
| term_start1 = 24 December 1985
| term_end1 = 28 November 1990
| predecessor1 = [[Hiteswar Saikia]]
| successor1 = [[President's rule]]
| birth_date = {{Birthdate and age|1952|12|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Nagaon]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = {{marriage|Jayashree Goswami Mahanta |1988|}}
| children = 3
| party = [[Asom Gana Parishad]]
| otherparty = [[National Democratic Alliance]] [[North-East Democratic Alliance]]
| father = Deba Kanta Mahanta
| office4 = Member of [[Assam Legislative Assembly]]
| predecessor5 = Mukut Sharma
| constituency5 = [[Nowgong (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Nowgong]]
| term5 = 1985 - 1991
| successor4 = Jitu Goswami
| predecessor4 = [[Girindra Kumar Baruah]]
| term4 = 1991 - 2021
| constituency4 = [[Barhampur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Barhampur]]
| 1namedata2 = [[Tarun Gogoi]]
| mother = Lakshmi Prova Mahanta
| 1namedata3 = [[Hiteswar Saikia]]
| 1blankname3 = [[Chief Minister]]
| 1blankname2 = [[Chief Minister]]
| term3 = 1991 - 1996
| successor2 = vacant
| predecessor2 = [[Chandra Mohan Patowary]]
| term2 = 4 September 2010 - 14 July 2014
| office2 = [[Leader of the Opposition]],[[Assam Legislative Assembly]]
| successor5 = Mukut Sarma
| caption = Mahanta in 2017
}}
'''Prafulla Kumar Mahanta''' 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 [[India]]n state of [[Assam]].<ref name="chief">{{cite web|title=Former Assam CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta resigns as AGP chief|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/07/former-assam-cm-prafulla-kumar-mahanta-resigns-as-agp-chief/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|accessdate=14 July 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article1604843.ece Mahanta takes on Congress heavyweight]</ref>

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.

== Early life and education ==
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was born on the 23 December 1952 to Lakshmi Prova Mahanta and Deba Kanta Mahanta at Village-Uluoni, Ruparayan Satra Kaliabor, [[Nagaon]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who's Who|url=http://assamassembly.gov.in/prafulla-kumar-mahanta.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=assamassembly.gov.in}}</ref> He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from [[Gauhati University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Prafulla Kumar Mahanta {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Prafulla-Kumar-Mahanta|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

== Political Career ==
During his time as a student, he became active in politics, and in 1979 he was named the president of the [[All Assam Students' Union|All Assam Students’ Union]] (AASU), an influential organization in the state. That year the AASU embarked on a popular agitation against illegal immigrants from [[Bangladesh]] that lasted until 1985. The movement, spearheaded by Mahanta, made him from being the leader of a student organization to becoming an influential politician. He was a major factor in the formation of the [[Asom Gana Parishad|AGP]] in October 1985 and was elected the party’s first president.

Mahanta was first elected to the [[Assam Legislative Assembly|Assembly]] in [[1985 Assam Legislative Assembly election|1985]] for [[Nowgong (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Nowgong]]. Mahanta next was elected to the [[Assam Legislative Assembly|Assembly]] in 1991 for [[Barhampur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Barhampur]]. He defeated the [[Indian National Congress]] candidate, Ramesh Chandra Phukan, by 17333 votes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Barhampur Assembly Constituency Election Result - Legislative Assembly Constituency|url=https://resultuniversity.com/election/barhampur-assam-assembly-constituency|access-date=2021-08-27|website=resultuniversity.com}}</ref> He continued to represent [[Barhampur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Barhampur]] in 1996, 2001 2006, [[2011 Assam Legislative Assembly election|2011]] and [[2016 Assam Legislative Assembly election|2016]].

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

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.<ref>{{citation|title=INDIA 11 northeast parties join hands ahead of Lok Sabha polls, form front|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-21/india/43249443_1_mizo-national-front-nagaland-people-prafulla-mahanta|work=[[The Times of India]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024014230/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-21/india/43249443_1_mizo-national-front-nagaland-people-prafulla-mahanta|archive-date=2013-10-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 14 July 2014 he resigned as president of [[Asom Gana Parishad]] after its failure to get any seat in the [[2014 Lok Sabha Elections|2014 Lok Sabha elections]].<ref name="chief" />

He did not run in the [[2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election|2021 Assam Legislative Assembly Election]] after differences with his party. However, the cause might also have been his health and whether or not he could campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-10|title=Prafulla Kumar Mahanta: The man who would be king|url=https://indianexpress.com/elections/assam-assembly-elections-2021-prafulla-kumar-mahanta-asom-gana-parishad-7221656/|access-date=2021-08-27|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref>

=== Chief Ministership ===
[[Asom Gana Parishad|AGP]] candidates secured a notable victory in December 1985, Mahanta who was one of those people, became the [[Chief Minister of Assam|Chief Minister]], he became the youngest person in the [[India|country]] to hold such a high office. His first administration, however, was beset by allegations of corruption and problems of escalating violence linked to the [[United Liberation Front of Asom|United Liberation Front of Assam]] (a militant separatist group in the state). In 1990 the authorities in New Delhi dismissed the AGP government and took [[President's rule (India)|direct rule of the state]]. A split in the party in 1991 and voter dissatisfaction with its performance in its first administration led to a poor performance for the party in the 1991 assembly elections.

Following an AGP resurgence in the 1996 state assembly elections, Mahanta became the [[List of chief ministers of Assam|chief minister]] for a second time. That tenure became highly controversial, especially after the revelation of a counterinsurgency strategy that allegedly was under the direction of Mahanta. In June 1997 the ULFA staged an attack on Mahanta, after which the police coerced ULFA cadres who had surrendered to the authorities to kill family members of active insurgents. An official commission that later was to investigate the killings and it concluded in 2007 that Mahanta was directly responsible for the policy. Also during his second administration, Mahanta was alleged to have been involved in a corruption scandal involving fraudulent letters of credit and avoided prosecution only through the intervention of the governor of Assam. Investigation of the matter was reopened in 2010. The 2001 elections were terrible for the [[Asom Gana Parishad|AGP]] as they only won 20 seats. On top of that, it was alleged that Mahanta had had an extramarital affair, he subsequently was ousted as president.

Despite the 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:
<blockquote>"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."<ref>{{citation|title=Walk the talk with pk mahanta|url=http://www.ndtv.com/video/shows/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-pk-mahanta-159488}}</ref></blockquote>

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

Aside from the [[Himanta Biswa Sarma|current chief minister]] of the state, Mahanta is regarded as the most powerful and influential politician of Assam.

== Personal life ==
Mahanta married [[Joyasree Goswami Mahanta|Jayashree Goswami Mahanta]] on the 29 April 1988. His wife was a writer and served as a [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Rajya Sabha MP]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-18|title=2019 Sahitya Akademi awardee Jayashree Goswami Mahanta to distribute prize money among families who lost lives during CAA protests in Assam-India News , Firstpost|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/2019-sahitya-akademi-awardee-jayashree-goswami-mahanta-to-distribute-prize-money-among-families-who-lost-lives-during-caa-protests-in-assam-7799701.html|access-date=2021-08-27|website=Firstpost}}</ref> Together they had 2 sons and 1 daughter. His youngest son, Shuvam Kashyap, was hurt in a road accident in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions|url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-asian-age/20160210/281556584871765|access-date=2021-08-27|website=www.pressreader.com}}</ref>

He was admitted to hospital in September 2020. He was also admitted to Guwahati hospital on 16th January 2021 after he complained about chest pain and high blood pressure. [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]] met his wife and his son and wished Mahanta a speedy recovery.<ref>{{Cite news|title=PM Modi meets family of ailing Assam ex-CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, wishes for his speedy recovery|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pm-modi-meets-family-of-ailing-assam-ex-cm-prafulla-kumar-mahanta-wishes-for-his-speedy-recovery/articleshow/81112532.cms?from=mdr|access-date=2021-08-27}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Asom Gana Parishad|AGP]]
* [[Assam Agitation]]
* [[ULFA]]

==Reference==
{{reflist}}
{{Chief Ministers of Assam}}4. http://www.elections.in/assam/assembly-constituencies/nowgong.html

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahanta, Prafulla Kumar}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Nagaon district]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Assam]]
[[Category:Members of the Assam Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Asom Gana Parishad politicians]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in Assam]]

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta - Revision history

imported>THeShavidow1: Added image caption