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Purno Agitok Sangma
Official portrait, 1996
11th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
In office 25 May 1996 – 23 March 1998
Deputy	Suraj Bhan
Preceded by	Shivraj Patil
Succeeded by	G. M. C. Balayogi
21st Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
In office 15 September 1995 – 16 May 1996
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Preceded by	Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo (As MoS)
Succeeded by	Sushma Swaraj
Member of the Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 26 May 2014 – 5 March 2016
Preceded by	Agatha Sangma
Succeeded by	Conrad Sangma
Constituency	Tura
In office 1991–2008
Preceded by	Sanford Marak
Succeeded by	Agatha Sangma
Constituency	Tura
In office 1977–1989
Preceded by	Lieutenant Karnesh Rangsa Marak
Succeeded by	Sanford Marak
Constituency	Tura
4th Chief Minister of Meghalaya
In office 6 February 1988 – 25 March 1990
Governor	Bhishma Narain Singh Hari Dev Joshi A. A. Rahim
Preceded by	Williamson A. Sangma
Succeeded by	B. B. Lyngdoh
Personal details
Born	Purno Agitok Sangma (1947-09-01)1 September 1947 Chapahati, Assam, India (now in Meghalaya, India)
Died	4 March 2016(2016-03-04) (aged 68) New Delhi, India
Political party	National People's Party (2012–2016)
Other political affiliations	Nationalist Congress Party (1999–2004; 2005–2012) All India Trinamool Congress (2004–2005) Indian National Congress (before 1999)
Spouse	Soradini K. Sangma ​(m. 1973)​
Children	4; Conrad, Agatha, James, Christie
Alma mater	Dibrugarh University
Occupation	Politician

Purno Agitok Sangma (1 September 1947 – 4 March 2016) was an Indian politician who has served as the 4th Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990 and the 11th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Tura in Meghalaya from 2014 to 2016, 1991 to 2008 and from 1977 to 1989 and the minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Rao ministry from 1995 to 1996. He was the founder of National People's Party and co-founder of Nationalist Congress Party.

Sangma contested the 2012 Indian presidential election, supported by the Bharatiya Janta Party and the AIADMK. However he lost to Pranab Mukherjee of the Indian National Congress. Sangma was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, posthumously in 2017, in the field of Public Affairs and was the first recipient of the award from Meghalaya.

Early and personal life

Sangma was born on 1 September 1947 in Chapahati, a village in the erstwhile Garo Hills district of Assam (in present-day West Garo Hills, Meghalaya), to Dipchon Ch. Marak and Chimri A. Sangma as one of their seven children. He lost his father when he was 11 and had to quit studies due to poverty. He was helped to return to school by a Salesian Father Giovanni Battista Busolin. Later, Sangma obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Anthony's College in Shillong before shifting to Dibrugarh in Assam, where he taught in the Don Bosco High School while pursuing Master of Arts in international politics from Dibrugarh University.

Sangma married Soradini K. Sangma in 1973. They have two sons and two daughters together. Son Conrad serves as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and daughter Agatha is the Member of Parliament from the Tura constituency. Agatha was elected from Tura to the 15th Lok Sabha elections in 2009, and at 29, was the youngest minister in the UPA ministry.

Sangma called himself a devout Christian.

Political Career

In 1973, Sangma became Vice-President of the Pradesh Youth Congress in Meghalaya and became the General Secretary of the party in 1975. He served in that position from 1975 to 1980.

In 1977, he was elected to the 6th Lok Sabha from Tura constituency in Meghalaya and represented the same constituency multiple times, from 1977-1988, 1991-2008, 2014-2016. The breaks in 1988 and 2008 were caused by his return to Meghalaya state politics. He became Speaker of Lok Sabha in 1996.

Chief Minister of Meghalaya

He was the Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990.

Formation of Nationalist Congress Party

Sangma was expelled from the Congress on 20 May 1999, along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar, for raising the banner of revolt against Sonia Gandhi over the fact that she was a foreign-born citizen. Sangma along with Pawar and Anwar wanted a native-born citizen to be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate. After his departure from the Congress Party, he was one of the founders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar in 1999. In January 2004, P.A. Sangma created a split in the NCP after Sharad Pawar became close to the NCP's former rival, Sonia Gandhi. After losing a battle for the NCP election symbol, Sangma later merged his faction with Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress, forming the Nationalist Trinamool Congress .Sangma was one of two NTC MPs elected. He resigned from his Lok Sabha seat on 10 October 2005 as a member of AITC, and was re-elected as an NCP candidate in February 2006. He resigned from the 14th Lok Sabha for the second time in March 2008 to take part in the 2008 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election.

On 5 January 2013, Sangma launched the National People's Party at the national level. The National People's Party managed to win two seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in the 2013 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election. In 2014, Sangma was elected to Lok Sabha from Tura, and died mid-term in 2016.

Presidential election

Sangma's candidature for the 2012 presidential election was proposed by AIADMK and Biju Janta Dal, and later, supported by BJP as well. Sangma resigned from the NCP on 20 June 2012 after opposition from Sharad Pawar over his presidential candidature. Former Union Minister and a Congress tribal leader Arvind Netam also came out strongly in favour of the candidature of Sangma for the presidential post.

On 22 July, Pranab Mukherjee was declared the victor over Sangma, crossing the half-way mark of 525,140 votes after votes in half the states had been tallied. While securing the required quota, Mukherjee secured 558,194 votes to Sangma's 239,966. After the final results were published, Mukherjee secured 7,13,424 value of votes, while Sangma secured 3,17,032 values of votes. The Returning Officer for the election, and the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, Vivek Agnihotri, then declared Mukherjee to be elected as President of India. Sangma subsequently accused the President-elect of graft.

Death

On the morning of 4 March 2016, Sangma died from cardiac arrest in New Delhi. He was aged 68.

Positions held

• 1974 - Vice President of Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress
• 1975 - The General Secretary of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee
• 1977 - Member of Parliament, Tura constituency (1977 to 1988, first stint)
• 1980 - Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee
• 1980 - Deputy Minister in charge of Industry
• 1982 - Deputy Minister, Ministry of Commerce
• 1984 - Minister of State holding charge of Commerce and Supply
• 1984 - Minister of State for Home Affairs
• 1986 - Minister of State for Labour with Independent Charge
• 1988 - Member, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
• 1988 - Chief Minister of Meghalaya
• 1990 - Leader of Opposition, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
• 1991 - Re-elected, Member of Parliament, Tura constituency (1991-2008, second stint)
• 1991-93 - Union Minister of State, Coal (Independent Charge)
• 1993-95 - Union Minister of State, Labour (Independent Charge)
• February–September 1995 - Union Minister of State, Labour
• 1995-96 - Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting
• 1996 - Re-elected, Member of Parliament, Tura constituency
• 1996-98 - Speaker of Lok Sabha -Chairman, (i) Business Advisory Committee; (ii) Rules Committee; (iii) General Purposes Committee; (iv) Standing Committee of the Conference of Presiding Officers of the Legislative Bodies in India; and (v) Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies;

President, (i) Indian Parliamentary Group, (ii) National Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union; and (iii) India Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

• 1998 - Re-elected, Member of Parliament, Tura constituency, as member of Congress
• 1998 - Member, Committee on External Affairs and its Sub-Committee-I
• 1998 - Vice-President, Indian Institute of Public Administration
• 1998 - Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs
• 1999 - Re-elected, Member of Parliament, Tura constituency, as member of NCP
• 1999 - Member, Committee on Labour and Welfare
• 2000 - Member, National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution
• 2002 - Member, Committee on External Affairs
• 2003 - Member, Committee on Home Affairs
• 2004 - Re-elected, Member of Parliament, Tura constituency
• 2004 - Member, Committee on External Affairs, Member, Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs
• 2006 - Re-elected to Lok Sabha as N.C.P. candidate on 23.2.2006, Tura constituency
• 2008 - Member, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
• 2014 - Elected to Lok Sabha from Tura

See also

• Politics of India
• Nuclear disarmament

References

1. "PA Sangma (1947-2016): The short man from Garo Hills, the tallest North East leader in New Delhi". 6 March 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
2. "PA Sangma awarded Padma Vibhushan, becomes first recipient from Meghalaya". India Today. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
3. "Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi and P A Sangma conferred Padma awards with 36 others". The Economic Times. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
4. "P.A. Sangma awarded Padma Vibhushan, becomes first recipient from Meghalaya". Business Standard India. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
5. "Sangma, Shri Purno Agitok Biographical sketch". indiapress.org. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
6. "P A Sangma: From tending cattle for food to minding the Lok Sabha". The Indian Express. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
7. Nayak, C. K. (21 March 2016). "Unopposed Tura By-Poll Would Be Fitting Tribute To My Father". The Shillong Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
8. "Agatha Sangma youngest minister in Manmohan ministry". The Times of India. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
9. "Narendra Modi has all prime ministerial qualities, says PA Sangma". India Today. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
10. "Who is P.A. Sangma?". 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
11. "CWC expels threesome for six years". Rediff.com, 20 May 1999. Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
12. "National Congress Party Origins". NCP official website, retrieved 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012.
13. news.oneindia.in/2013/01/05/sangma-launches-his-party-with-alliance-with-nda-1125781.html
14. "It's time that a tribal becomes President: Netam". 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012.
15. "Sangma withdraws himself from presidential race, seeks consensus for Abdual Kalam". Headlines today. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
16. "I have quit NCP, will contest presidential polls: PA Sangma". 20 June 2012.
17. "Pranab Mukherjee voted India's 13th President". The Times of India. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
18. "Pranab Mukherjee is 13th President". Deccan Herald. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
19. "BJP supports Sangma after division in NDA". The Times of India. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
20. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma Passes Away at 68". The Quint. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

External links

• Biography - From Lok Sabha Speakers' official site
• P. A. Sangma: Fourteenth Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile
• XII LOK SABHA DEBATES - Sangma's famous debate against nuclear weapons
• Interview with Sangma by Rediff on NCP split up

v t e Chief ministers of Meghalaya
Williamson A. Sangma Darwin Diengdoh Pugh B. B. Lyngdoh Purno Agitok Sangma D.D. Lapang S. C. Marak E. K. Mawlong Flinder Anderson Khonglam J. D. Rymbai Donkupar Roy Mukul Sangma Conrad Sangma

v t e Energy ministries and departments of India
Power	Statutory bodies Central Electricity Authority Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Bureau of Energy Efficiency Damodar Valley Corporation Autonomous bodies Central Power Research Institute National Power Training Institute PSUs NTPC Limited NHPC Limited North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited Power Finance Corporation REC Limited Power Grid Corporation of India THDC India Limited Power System Operation Corporation
New and Renewable Energy	Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)
Ministry of Coal	Coal India Bharat Coking Coal Central Mine Planning and Design Institute NLC India Limited Singareni Collieries Company Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation
Petroleum and Natural Gas	Academic Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology Pandit Deendayal Energy University Other Directorate General of Hydrocarbons Oil Industry Safety Directorate Petroleum Conservation Research Association Operational Balmer Lawrie Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited Bharat Petroleum Engineers India Limited Gas Authority of India Limited Indian Oil Corporation Numaligarh Refinery Limited Oil India Limited Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Hindustan Petroleum Defunct Biecco Lawrie Other Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Department of Atomic Energy	Apex board Atomic Energy Commission Regulatory board Atomic Energy Regulatory Board R&D Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership PSUs Electronics Corporation of India Indian Rare Earths Limited Uranium Corporation of India Nuclear Power Corporation of India Bharatiya Nabhkiya Vidyut Nigam Limited Industrial Heavy Water Board Nuclear Fuel Complex Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology Academic National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar National Board for Higher Mathematics Atomic Energy Education Society Tata Memorial Centre Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Institute of Physics Harish-Chandra Research Institute Institute of Mathematical Sciences Institute for Plasma Research

v t e Ministers of information and broadcasting
Vallabhbhai Patel R. R. Diwakar B. V. Keskar Satya Narayan Sinha Indira Gandhi Nandini Satpathy Inder Kumar Gujral Vidya Charan Shukla L. K. Advani Purushottam Kaushik Vasant Sathe H. K. L. Bhagat V. N. Gadgil Ajit Kumar Panja P. Upendra Chandra Shekhar Ajit Kumar Panja K. P. Singh Deo P. A. Sangma Jaipal Reddy Arun Jaitley Sushma Swaraj Ravi Shankar Prasad Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Ambika Soni Manish Tewari Prakash Javadekar Arun Jaitley Venkaiah Naidu Smriti Irani Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Prakash Javadekar Anurag Thakur(incumbent)

v t e Members of the 16th Lok Sabha from Northeast states
GE 2014	Arunachal Pradesh Kiren Rijiju Ninong Ering Assam Biren Singh Engti Sirajuddin Ajmal Badruddin Ajmal Rameswar Teli Bijoya Chakravarty Kamakhya Prasad Tasa Gaurav Gogoi Radheshyam Biswas Naba Kumar Sarania Sarbananda Sonowal Ramen Deka Rajen Gohain Sushmita Dev Ram Prasad Sarmah Manipur Thokchom Meinya Thangso Baite Meghalaya Vincent Pala P. A. Sangma Mizoram C. L. Ruala Nagaland Neiphiu Rio Sikkim Prem Das Rai Tripura Jitendra Chaudhury Sankar Prasad Datta
Bye-elections 2016	Meghalaya Conrad Sangma Pre-bye poll: P. A. Sangma - death Assam Pradan Baruah Pre-bye poll: Sarbananda Sonowal - resigned
15th LS members 17th LS membersMembers of the 16th Lok Sabha from States AP AR AS BR CT GA GJ HR HP JH KA KL MP MH ML MN MZ NL OR PB RJ SK TG TN TR UP UT WB Union territories AN CH DH DL JK LA LD PY

• 1947 births
• 2016 deaths
• India MPs 1977–1979
• India MPs 1980–1984
• India MPs 1984–1989
• India MPs 1991–1996
• India MPs 1996–1997
• India MPs 1998–1999
• India MPs 1999–2004
• India MPs 2004–2009
• Chief ministers of Meghalaya
• Dibrugarh University alumni
• Members of the Cabinet of India
• Indian political party founders
• Nationalist Congress Party politicians from Meghalaya
• People from Tura, Meghalaya
• Speakers of the Lok Sabha
• Candidates for President of India
• Lok Sabha members from Meghalaya
• India MPs 2014–2019
• Chief ministers from Indian National Congress
• National People's Party (India) politicians
• State cabinet ministers of Meghalaya
• Meghalaya MLAs 1988–1993
• Meghalaya politicians
• Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs
• Ministers for information and broadcasting of India
• Garo people