Who Is Ajanta Neog? It is the first time in Assam that a woman legislator has been named as the Finance Minister of the state. Newly sworn-in Chief Minister of the state Himanta Biswa Sarma gave Ajanta Neog, a five-time MLA from Golaghat the charge of Finance Ministry. The ministry was held previously by Sharma himself during the first term of the BJP government.
Neog won the Golahat seat in the recent Assam Assembly elections with a margin of 9,036 votes and has been winning this seat since 2001.
Here are 10 things to know about Ajanta Neog, the first woman Finance Minister of Assam.
1. Ajanta Neog has also been given charge of the social welfare department and is the only woman in the Himanta Biswa Sarma cabinet.
2. Neog was previously a minister in the Congress government and switched to BJP in December 2020 before the state assembly polls.
3. The Finance Minister of Assam has been representing the Golaghat Assembly seat of Assam for consecutive five terms, since 2001.
4. The 57-year-old politician who holds the record for being the second longest-serving woman legislator in Assam has completed her Masters in Law from Gauhati University.
5. Neog first entered the assembly by defeating her rival by more than 10,000 votes in the 2001 elections and has been winning every term.
6. She previously also held the position of the Minister of Urban Development & Housing, and Public Works Department (PWD) and has been a part of the cabinet for the last three consecutive terms.
7. She was also conferred with the Golaghat Ratna Award by the United Chamber of Commerce, Golaghat.
8. During her term as the PWD Minister of Assam, she achieved huge success in developing the infrastructure of the place, as Assam was adjudged as the Best Infrastructure Development State. This was declared in the Big state category in the 13th States Conclave by India Today Group which was held in November 2015.
9. Her allocation as the Finance Minister of the state has raised eyebrows as she hardly has any experience in a key department like finance and does not have an educational background in the subject.
10. The Minister tweeted on Monday after the oath-taking ceremony of Assam's newly appointed Chief Minister and pledged to fulfil her duty by serving the people of the state.
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