Prafulla Kumar Mahanta

11th Chief Minister of Assam

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian politician who was the leader of the Assam Movement, and the 11th Chief Minister of Assam from 1985 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2001 and the co founder and former President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a major political party in the Indian state of Assam. He was representing the Barhampur constituency in Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2021 and Nowgong constituency from 1985 to 1991. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2014 and again from 1991 to 1996. 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. He is also a former president of the All Assam Students Union,an organization that spearheaded the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985. In August 2005, his membership in the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was terminated. So, he floated a new political party, Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive) on 15 September 2005.

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was born on the 23 December 1952 to Late Lakshmi Prova Mahanta and Late Deba Kanta Mahanta(1923 2022), at Village Uluoni, Ruparayan Satra Kaliabor, Nagaon. He earned a bachelor's degree in law from Gauhati University.

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 (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 AGP in October 1985 and was elected the party's first president. Mahanta was first elected to the Assembly in 1985 for Nowgong. Mahanta next was elected to the Assembly in 1991 for Barhampur. He defeated the Indian National Congress candidate, Ramesh Chandra Phukan, by 17333 votes. He continued to represent Barhampur in 1996, 2001 2006, 2011 and 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. 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.

Mahanta married Jayashree Goswami Mahanta on the 29 April 1988. His wife was a writer and served as a Rajya Sabha MP. Together they had 2 sons and 1 daughter. His younger son, Shuvam Kashyap, was hurt in a road accident in 2016. He was admitted to hospital in September 2020. He was also admitted to Guwahati hospital on 16 January 2021 after he complained about chest pain and high blood pressure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his wife and his son and wished Mahanta a speedy recovery.