Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is an Indian politician who was the leader of the Assam Movement, and the 11th Chief Minister of Assam from 1985 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2001 and the co-founder and former President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a major political party in the Indian state of Assam. He was representing the Barhampur constituency in Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2021 and Nowgong constituency from 1985 to 1991. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2014 and again from 1991 to 1996.He became the chief minister in the state when the AGP came to power in 1985, becoming the youngest Chief Minister of an Indian state. He is also a former president of the All Assam Students Union,an organization that spearheaded the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985.In August 2005, his membership in the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was terminated. So, he floated a new political party, Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive) on 15 September 2005.

The Assam Movement (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) the movement defined a six-year period of sustained civil disobedience campaigns, political instability and widespread ethnic violence. The movement ended in 1985 with the Assam Accord.