List of presidents of the Indian National Congress - wikipedia List of presidents of the Indian National Congress This article is part of a series on the Indian National Congress About Presidents History Election history Committees All India Central Election Pradesh Working Frontals Mahila Minority Students Youth Trade The Indian National Congress ( INC ) is one of the major political party and Oldest, Only freedom fighting political party in the political system of Republic of India The President of the Indian National Congress is the elected head of the party responsible for managing the party 's relationship with the general public, developing and communicating party policy especially on election platforms. The President of the All India Congress Committee, and therefore of the Indian National Congress Party ( INC ) as a whole, is known as the Congress President. Since the party was established in 1885, 59 people have served as president. The first, Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress held at Bombay in 1885 from 28 December to 31 December. The most recently serving president is Sonia Gandhi. The president of INC at the time of India 's independence was J.B. Kripalani. Annie Besant was the first woman president of INC whereas, Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman president. Contents 1 History 2 Presidents 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History Traditionally, the post rotated between prominent members of the party, successive terms for the same person being frowned upon. During Jawaharlal Nehru 's premiership, he rarely held the Presidency of INC, even though he was always head of the Legislative Party. Indira Gandhi however, institutionalized the practice of having the same person as the President and the Prime Minister after the first Congress split of 1969. Her son Rajiv Gandhi continued that practice. Narasimha Rao, too held both the Congress President and the Prime Minister 's posts. Sitaram Kesri held the post after INC was voted out. But as the INC never returned to power under his leadership, he did n't hold the two posts together. In 2004, when the INC was voted back into power, Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister, not to be the president of the party. Sonia Gandhi is the current Congress President and the longest serving president of the congress party. Presidents Name of President Picture Life span Year of Presidency Place of Conference Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee 29 December 1844 -- 1906 1885 Bombay Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825 -- 1917 1886 Calcutta Badruddin Tyabji 10 October 1844 -- 1906 1887 Madras George Yule 1829 -- 1892 1888 Allahabad William Wedderburn 1838 -- 1918 1889 Bombay Pherozeshah Mehta 4 August 1845 -- 1915 1890 Calcutta Anandacharlu August 1843 -- 1908 1891 Nagpur Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee 29 December 1844 -- 1906 1892 Allahabad Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825 -- 1917 1893 Lahore Alfred Webb 1834 -- 1908 1894 Madras Surendranath Banerjee 10 November 1848 -- 1925 1895 Poona Rahimtulla M. Sayani 5 April 1847 -- 1902 1896 Calcutta C. Sankaran Nair 11 July 1857 -- 1934 1897 Amravati Anandamohan Bose 23 September 1847 -- 1906 1898 Madras Romesh Chunder Dutt 13 August 1848 -- 1909 1899 Lucknow N.G. Chandavarkar 2 December 1855 -- 1923 1900 Lahore Dinshaw Edulji Wacha 2 August 1844 -- 1936 1901 Calcutta Surendranath Banerjee 10 November 1825 -- 1917 1902 Ahmedabad Lalmohan Ghosh 1848 -- 1909 1903 Madras Henry Cotton 1845 -- 1915 1904 Bombay Gopal Krishna Gokhale 9 May 1866 -- 1915 1905 Benares Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825 -- 1917 1906 Calcutta Rashbihari Ghosh 23 December 1845 -- 1921 1907 Surat Rashbihari Ghosh 23 December 1845 -- 1921 1908 Madras Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861 -- 1946 1909 Lahore William Wedderburn 1838 -- 1918 1910 Allahabad Bishan Narayan Dar 1864 -- 1916 1911 Calcutta Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar 1857 -- 1921 1912 Bankipore Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur ? -- 1919 1913 Karachi Bhupendra Nath Bose 1859 -- 1924 1914 Madras Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha March 1863 -- 1928 1915 Bombay Ambica Charan Mazumdar 1850 -- 1922 1916 Lucknow Annie Besant 1 October 1847 -- 1933 1917 Calcutta Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861 -- 1946 1918 Delhi Syed Hasan Imam 31 August 1871 -- 1933 1918 Bombay ( Special Session ) Motilal Nehru 6 May 1861 -- 6 February 1931 1919 Amritsar Lala Lajpat Rai 28 January 1865 -- 17 November 1928 1920 Calcutta C. Vijayaraghavachariar 1852 -- 19 April 1944 1920 Nagpur ( Special Session ) Hakim Ajmal Khan 1863 -- 29 December 1927 1921 Ahmedabad Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das 5 November 1870 -- 16 June 1925 1922 Gaya Mohammad Ali Jouhar 10 December 1878 -- 4 January 1931 1923 Kakinada Abul Kalam Azad 1888 -- 22 February 1958 1923 Delhi ( Special Session ) Mohandas Gandhi 2 October 1869 -- 30 January 1948 1924 Belgaum Sarojini Naidu 13 February 1879 -- 2 March 1949 1925 Kanpur S. Srinivasa Iyengar September 11, 1874 -- 19 May 1941 1926 Gauhati Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari 25 December 1880 -- 10 May 1936 1927 Madras Motilal Nehru 6 May 1861 -- 6 February 1931 1928 Calcutta Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1929 & 30 Lahore Vallabhbhai Patel 31 October 1875 -- 15 December 1950 1931 Karachi Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861 -- 1946 1932 Delhi Nellie Sengupta 1886 -- 1973 1933 Calcutta Rajendra Prasad 3 December 1884 -- 28 February 1963 1934 & 35 Bombay Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1936 Lucknow Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1937 Faizpur Subhas Chandra Bose 23 January 1897 -- 18 August 1945 1938 Haripura Subhas Chandra Bose ( resigned ) Rajendra Prasad replaced Bose after the session. 23 January 1897 -- 18 August 1945 1939 Jabalpur Abul Kalam Azad 1888 -- 22 February 1958 1940 -- 46 Ramgarh J.B. Kripalani 1888 -- 19 March 1982 1947 Meerut Pattabhi Sitaraimayya 24 December 1880 -- 17 December 1959 1948 & 49 Jaipur Purushottam Das Tandon 1 August 1882 -- 1 July 1961 1950 Nasik Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1951 & 52 Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1953 Hyderabad Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889 -- 27 May 1964 1954 Calcutta U.N. Dhebar 21 September 1905 -- 1977 1955 Avadi U.N. Dhebar 21 September 1905 -- 1977 1956 Amritsar U.N. Dhebar 21 September 1905 -- 1977 1957 Indore U.N. Dhebar 21 September 1905 -- 1977 1958 Gauhati U.N. Dhebar 21 September 1905 -- 1977 1959 Nagpur Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917 -- 31 October 1984 1959 Delhi ( Special Session ) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913 -- 1 June 1996 1960 Bangalore Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913 -- 1 June 1996 1961 Bhavnagar Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913 -- 1 June 1996 1962 & 63 Patna K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903 -- 2 October 1975 1964 Bhubaneswar K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903 -- 2 October 1975 1965 Durgapur K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903 -- 2 October 1975 1966 & 67 Jaipur S. Nijalingappa 10 December 1902 -- 9 August 2000 1968 Hyderabad S. Nijalingappa 10 December 1902 -- 9 August 2000 1969 Faridabad Jagjivan Ram 5 April 1908 -- 6 July 1986 1970 & 71 Bombay Shankar Dayal Sharma 19 August 1918 -- 26 December 1999 1972 -- 74 Calcutta Devakanta Barua 22 February 1914 -- 1996 1975 -- 77 Chandigarh Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917 -- 31 October 1984 1978 -- 83 Delhi Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917 -- 31 October 1984 1983 & 84 Calcutta Rajiv Gandhi 20 August 1944 -- 21 May 1991 1985 -- 91 Bombay P.V. Narasimha Rao 28 June 1921 -- 23 December 2004 1992 -- 96 Tirupati Sitaram Kesri November 1919 -- 24 October 2000 1996 -- 98 Calcutta Sonia Gandhi 9 December 1946 -- 1998 -- present Calcutta See also List of Presidents of the Bharatiya Janata Party References Jump up ^ `` Sonia Gandhi ( Indian politician ) ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2014. External links ( 1 ) Official Indian National Congress website Indian National Congress Seva Dal Mahila Congress Minority Congress Youth Congress National Students Union of India ( NSUI ) Indian National Trade Union Congress ( INTUC ) Congress Karma Parishad History Statewise Election history of Congress Party Nehru -- Gandhi family Congress Radio 10 Janpath The Emergency Bofors scandal INA Defence Committee Indian National Congress ( Organisation ) Breakaway parties Internal Organisations Congress President Working President Congress Working Committee Central Election Committee All India Congress Committee Pradesh Congress Committees ( PCC ) Andhra Pradesh CC Assam PCC Bihar PCC Chhattisgarh PCC Core group Gujarat PCC Karnataka PCC Kerala PCC Maharashtra PCC Mizoram PCC Mumbai PCC Punjab PCC Tamil Nadu PCC Telangana PCC Uttarakhand PCC West Bengal PCC Presidents Banerjee Naoroji Tyabji Yule Wedderburn Mehta Charlappa Banerjee Naoroji Webb Banerjee Sayani Nair A.M. Bose Dutt Chandavarkar Wacha Banerjee L. Ghosh H. Cotton Gokhale Naoroji R. Ghosh ( 1907 -- 1908 ) Malaviya Wedderburn Dar Mudholkar Bahadur B.N. Bose Sinha Mazumdar Besant Malaviya Imam M. Nehru Rai C. Vijayaraghavachariar Khan Das M. Ali A.K. Azad Mahatma Gandhi Naidu Iyengar Ansari Motilal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru S.V. Patel Malaviya ( 1932 -- 1933 ) Nellie Sengupta Rajendra Prasad ( 1934 -- 1935 ) Jawaharlal Nehru ( 1936 -- 1937 ) S.C. Bose ( 1938 -- 1939 ) A.K. Azad ( 1940 -- 1946 ) J.B. Kripalani Sitaramayya ( 1948 -- 1949 ) Tandon Jawaharlal Nehru ( 1951 -- 1954 ) Dhebar ( 1955 -- 1959 ) Indira Gandhi Neelam Sanjiva Reddy ( 1960 -- 1963 ) K. Kamaraj ( 1964 -- 1967 ) S. Nijalingappa ( 1968 -- 1969 ) Jagjivan Ram ( 1970 -- 1971 ) S.D. Sharma ( 1972 -- 1974 ) Baruah ( 1975 -- 1977 ) Indira Gandhi ( 1978 -- 1984 ) Rajiv Gandhi ( 1985 -- 1991 ) Narasimha Rao ( 1992 -- 1996 ) Kesri ( 1996 -- 1998 ) Sonia Gandhi ( 1998 -- present ) Leaders in the Lok Sabha Gandhi Rao Pawar S. Gandhi Mukherjee Shinde Kharge Leaders in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh Vora Patel Sharma Azad Ramesh Antony Digvijay Chidambaram Singhvi Sibal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Presidents_of_the_Indian_National_Congress&oldid=801440693 '' Categories : Presidents of the Indian National Congress 1885 establishments in India Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch മലയാളം Edit links This page was last edited on 19 September 2017, at 17 : 58. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the first indian president of the indian national congress
Answer: Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee