Gogoi's entry into Dispur, Assam's seat of power, in 2001 was as dramatic as the way he went out of it. He had then demolished Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in a similar fashion. At that time, BJP was AGP's junior partner.
He went on to eclipse all his illustrious predecessors such as Gopinath Bordoloi, BP Chaliha, and Hiteswar Saikia as the state's longest-serving chief minister. It is also a measure of his success as a politician that BJP had to depute Modi to challenge him in a state election. This plucky fighter was resolute even in the face of a humiliating defeat. "Come what may, I will never join hands with a communal party like AIUDF," he said as he accepted the people's verdict on Thursday.
A proud Ahom, Gogoi found his own deserting him. His party could win only three seats in Jorhat, Sibasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts in upper Assam, an Ahom heartland that had given him 22 seats in 2011.
That Tarun Gogoi has nerves of steel is well-known. Seven months before the 2011 assembly election, he underwent three heart surgeries in Mumbai. His wife, Dolly, had then requested the then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia to take him off politics. Three months later, the irrepressible Gogoi crisscrossed the length and breadth of the state to campaign for the party. His hard work gave Congress an absolute majority.
A straight-talker and a journalist's delight, he is one of the few politicians who never showed any qualms about admitting mistakes. During his 15-year-long tenure, he made mistakes and promptly apologized to his people.
Known for his proximity to Indira Gandhi, Gogoi eclipsed all his illustrious predecessors such as Gopitath Bordoloi, BP Chaliha and Hiteshwar Saikia as a leader who could help his party win three consecutive assembly elections.
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