RIP Tarun Gogoi: One of Assam's tallest leaders; a look at longest-serving CMs of India

Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi passed away on Monday. Gogoi, who served as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term till 2016, was one of the longest serving CMs of India.The head of the state or the Chief Minister usually has a tenure of five years, however, many CMs are re-elected and serve for much longer.    

Former CM of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling has governed the north-eastern state for 24 years and 165 days, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of India. He also established the Sikkim Democratic Party, and has won the 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 Legislative Assembly Elections. Credit: Twitter/ Pawan Kumar Chamling

Serving the state for 23 years and 137 days was Jyoti Basu of West Bengal. The Chief Minister was a co-founder of the Communist Party of India and also a member of the Polit Bureau. He worked from 1977-2000 making him a CM who served five consecutive terms.

Chief Minister Gegong Apang of Arunachal Pradesh served from 18 January 1980 to 19 January 1999 and again from August 2003 to April 2007. The longest-serving CM of the north-eastern state, Apang contributed 22 years and 8 months into service. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The fourth longest-serving Chief Minister, Lal Thanhawla, governed Mizoram from 1984 to 1986 and from 1989 to 1998. He was re-elected in the 2013 Mizoram Legislative Assembly elections, making it a record fifth time to be head of the state. The total number of years he was CM crosses 21.Credit: DH File Photo

The fourth Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, served as from 1983 to 1990, from 1993 to 1998, from 2003 to 2007 and 2012 to 2017. The Indian National Congress politician had worked for 20 years and 255 days, and was a member of the Indian Delegation to the UN General Assembly in 1976. Credit: DH File Photo

Holding the Chief Minister's post for almost two decades, Odisha's Naveen Patnaik began his tenure in 2000. The President of the Biju Janata Dal, Patnaik is also an author and has written three books. Credit: Twitter/ Naveen Patnaik

A recently elected Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, is one of the longest-serving CM's of the country. A member of the Janata Dal (United), Nitish has served the eastern state since 2015, contributing 13 years and 303 days in service. The 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar is set to take oath once again in Patna on 16 November, 2020. Credit: PTI

Popularly called 'Amma' in Tamil Nadu, Jayaram Jayalalithaa was a six-time serving Chief Minister in that state. Her tenure added up to 14 years and 126 days as she governed from 1991 to 2016. A film-actor-turned-politician, Jayalalithaa was also one of the youngest Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu. Credit: PTI

Sheila Dixit, was the longest-serving female Chief Minister of any India state, having governed Delhi for a little over 15 years. The Congress leader bagged three consecutive electoral wins and lost in 2013 to the Aam Adami Party. Credit: PTI

Serving the state of Tripura for almost 20 years, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar headed the north-eastern pocket from 1998 to 2018. A member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Polit Bureau, he was sworn in as the leader of the Left Front, the Tripura coalition government. Credit: PTI

The multi-talented Muthuvel Karunanidhi served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. The writer-cum-politician had the longest tenure as the head of the state, contributing 18 years and 293 days of his life in service. He was also a leader of the Dravidian movement and ten-time president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) political party. Credit: PTI