Assam's Sangeeta Baruah Pisharoty elected Press Club of India president
Guwahati: The Press Club of India (PCI) on December 13 elected senior journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty of Assam as its president, making her the first woman to head the institution since its establishment.
Pisharoty led a clean sweep in the fiercely contested elections, with her panel winning every office-bearer and managing committee seat by an overwhelming 21–0 margin. She secured a decisive mandate with 1,019 votes, far ahead of her rivals Atul Mishra, who polled 129 votes, and Arun Sharma, who received 89.
The contest for the post of Secretary-General also ended in a clear victory, with Afzal Imam emerging triumphant after securing 948 votes, comfortably defeating Gyan Prakash, who garnered 290 votes. Jatin Gandhi won the vice-president’s post with 1,029 votes, defeating Prahlad Singh Rajput by a margin exceeding 900 votes. Aditi Rajput and P.R. Sunil were elected unopposed as treasurer and joint secretary, respectively.
The PCI’s chief election commissioner, M.M.C. Sharma, along with his team, formally declared the results at the club’s lawns in the evening in the presence of a large gathering of journalists.
Elections to the 16-member Managing Committee saw Niraj Kumar top the list with 932 votes. He was followed by Abhishek Kumar Singh (911), Jahanvi Sen (903), Ashok Kaushik (892), Kallol Bhattacharjee (882), Praveen Jain (878), Agraj Pratap Singh (865), Manoj Sharma (861), Nyanima Basu (851), P.B. Suresh (838), V.P. Pandey (833), Prem Bahukhandi (831), Sneha Bhura (829), Javed Akhtar (823), Rezaul Hasan Laskar (781), and Sunil Kumar (780).
Reacting to the results, Pisharoty also said the mandate reflected the members’ faith in her panel’s vision and its sustained commitment to protecting the principles of free, fair, and responsible journalism.
Outgoing PCI president Gautam Lahiri thanked the club’s members for their continued trust and expressed confidence that the newly elected team would further strengthen the institution’s inclusivity and responsiveness.
Secretary-General Neeraj Thakur further described the election of the first woman president as a significant milestone, calling it a reaffirmation of the Press Club of India’s enduring commitment to equality, diversity, and democratic values.