Three-time former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi passed away due to multiple organ failure at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Guwahati on Monday. He was 84.
The veteran Congress leader was suffering from post-COVID complications. His wife Dolly Gogoi, son and MP Gaurav Gogoi, daughter Chandrima Gogoi, who lives in the U.S., and other relatives were by his side when he breathed his last.
Mr Gogoi had been in and out of the hospital, often in intensive care, for the past three months since he tested positive for COVID-19 on August 25. He was put on mechanical ventilation after his health deteriorated on Saturday. A team of doctors of the GMCH treated him in consultation with experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
In his political career spanning more than 50 years, Mr Gogoi represented the Congress as an MP from Assam six times and led the party to a record three straight electoral victories. He was Chief Minister from 2001 to 2016 and is credited with having tamed insurgency that ravaged the State.
Reactions to Tarun Gogoi's death
Born in 1934 in Jorhat district, Mr. Gogoi had his early education at No 26 Rangajan Nimna Buniyadi Vidyalaya and later from the Jorhat Madrassa School, Bholaguri High School and Jorhat Government High School. He did his graduation from the JB College in Jorhat and LLB from the Gauhati University. His father was a medical practitioner at the Rangajan Tea Estate in Jorhat.
He was first elected to the Parliament in 1971 from the prestigious Jorhat seat in eastern Assam. In 1976, he was elected the joint secretary of the All India Congress Committee. Later, he served as the party’s general secretary from 1985 to 1990). He was appointed a minister in the Cabinet of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.
Mr. Gogoi also served as the president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (1986-90) and was an MLA for four terms. He first represented the Margherita seat in the Assembly. Since 2001, he had represented Titabor.
In his tribute, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “We have lost a great leader whose contribution to the development of Assam cannot be ignored.”
“We had our differences but he was one of the warmest persons who never harboured any ill-will,” said former Congress Chief Minister Bhumidhar Barman.
