Assam assembly polls: Will Prafulla Kumar Mahanta manage to ditch his 'fading star' moniker?

Mahanta will face off against AIUDF's Shariful Islam Siddique and Congress' Suresh Bora in Barhampur

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Two-time former Chief Minister and President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Prafulla Kumar Mahanta became the CM of Assam when AGP came to power in 1985. Mahanta is also the former president of the All Assam Students Union, membership from which was terminated in  2005. This led to the formation of AGP, as a new political party in September 2005.

Mahanta, the leader of the Assam movement and currently BJP's alliance partner in the state, will face off against AIUDF's Shariful Islam Siddique and Congress' Suresh Bora in Barhampur. 

Post his stint as chief minister of the state, Mahanta's political career grew sporadically, with more lows on his career graph. However, through all those ups and downs, Mahanta has been elected five consecutive times as the Barhampur MLA, which goes on to show his popularity among people of the constituency.

In 2007, Mahanta was accused of organising 'secret killings' against families of ULFA members, based on the findings of a report by the Saikia Commission to the Assam Assembly. The ruling Congress party seems to have brought back these allegations into the limelight, which could adversly affect Mahanta's reputation and chances of winning with the state.

Additionally, reports stating that the general infrastructure, especially roads, in his constituency have been in a state of general disrepair could also work against the AGP leader.