Who among the following was thrice elected President of the Indian National Congress?

Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the 'Grand Old Man of India', was elected President of the Indian National Congress thrice [c2][t2]. His first term was at the 1886 Calcutta session, where the Congress merged with the National Conference [t1][t8]. He was elected for a second time at the 1893 Lahore session [t1][t8]. His third and most significant presidency occurred during the 1906 Calcutta session, a critical period marked by rising tensions between Moderates and Extremists [c5]. During this 1906 session, Naoroji famously defined the goal of the Congress as 'Swaraj' or self-government, which helped avert a party split at the time [c5]. While other leaders like Surendranath Banerjee and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were prominent figures, only Naoroji among the options served three terms during the early nationalist phase [c2][c4].

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 11: Indian National Congress: Foundation and the Moderate Phase > Foundation of Indian National Congress > p. 247
2. [2] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 12: Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909) > Run-up to Surat > p. 273
3. [3] https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10973/46975/Indian%20National%20Congress%20Presidents.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
4. [4] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 12: Growth of New India—The Nationalist Movement 1858—1905 > THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS > p. 208