| File:Ajanta Neog, BJP MLA Assam.png
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| Office | Minister of Finance and Social Welfare, Government of Assam |
|---|---|
| Office | Member of Assam Legislative Assembly
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| Term start | 10 May 2021
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| Predecessor | Himanta Biswa Sarma
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| Predecessor | Herself
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| Born | Guwahati, Assam, India
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| Nationality | Indian
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| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Template:Marriage |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | M.A. from Gauhati University and LLB,LLM |
| Occupation | Politician
|
Ajanta Neog ( born 1964)[1] is an Indian politician who is currently the Finance and Social Welfare Minister in the Government of Assam. She is the first woman Finance Minister of Assam.[2] She has been representing the Golaghat Assembly seat consecutively for the past five terms since 2001. She also holds the record for being the longest serving female legislator from Assam .[3]
Currently, she is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party which she joined in December 2020. After she resigned her post as a MLA .
Early life and education
Ajanta Neog was born in Guwahati to the late Sasadhar Das and the late Rebati Das. Her mother Rebati Das, was a former Member of Assam Legislative Assembly for Jalukbari.[4] She has secured her MA, LLB and LLM from Guwahati University. After completing her degrees she practiced law as an advocate in Gauhati High Court for a few years .
She was married to Karmashree Nagen Neog before he was killed in 1996. Her husband was a former minister and belonged to the Chutia ethnic group. She has two sons.
Indian National Congress
She first entered the assembly in the 2001 elections by defeating her nearest rival by over 10000 votes.[5] She was again victorious in the subsequent election held in 2006. In the 2011 assembly elections she won by a huge margin of 46171 votes. Consecutively she won the 2016 assembly elections despite a ‘BJP Wave’ in upper Assam where a vast majority of the Congress candidates were defeated. She held the position of Minister for the Public Works Department (Roads & Building, NH), Urban Development & Housing,[6][7][8] and had been in the last three Cabinets.[9] She was also given the additional charge of Minister for Planning and Development, Judicial, Legislative, Pension & Public Grievance in 2015.[10] She was conferred with the Golaghat ratna award by the united chamber of commerce, golaghat.[11]
During her tenure as the PWD minister, Assam achieved huge success in infrastructure development. Assam was adjudged the Best Infrastructure Development State in the big state category in the 13th States Conclave by India Today group held on 6 November 2015. Assam was adjudged the best State in Infrastructure Development because it had registered a 17 percent increase in the length of pucca road from 2011 to 2013–14, whereas the National average for the same period was four percent.[12]
Bharatiya Janata Party
In December 2020, Ajanta Neog along with Rajdeep Gowala (both incumbent legislators ) joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after both were expelled from Indian National Congress for their alleged "anti-party" activities.[13] She called her former party ‘vision less’ and disconnected from people while speaking to reporters. She also said that she is joining the BJP to protect the interest of the indigenous people of Assam from the ‘unholy’ alliance of the Congress Party and AIUDF.
She subsequently won the 2021 Assembly election from the Golaghat constituency on a BJP ticket defeating her nearest rival from the Congress Party. With this victory she became a MLA for the 5th term consecutively from the Golaghat LAC.[1] She was inducted into the Himanta Biswa Sarma Cabinet as the Finance Minister creating history by being the first woman Finance Minister of the state. She is also the Social Welfare minister.
References
- ↑ Who's Who. www.assamassembly.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- ↑ Assam CM allots portfolios to ministers; keeps home, PWD, personnel with self. Hindustan Times(2021-05-11). Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ↑ Assam Gets Its First Woman Finance Minister as CM Himanta Gives Portfolio to 5-time MLA Ajanta Neog. www.news18.com(2021-05-11). Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ↑ Jalukbari Election Results 2016, Candidate list, Winner, Runner-up and Current MLAs. Elections in India. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- ↑ Golaghat Elections and Results 2016, Candidate list, Current and Previous MLAs. www.elections.in. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ Smti. Ajanta Neog - Who's Who.
- ↑ Ajanta retains PWD, Nazrul gets health(26 January 2015).
- ↑ 14-member new Assam Ministry sworn in. The Hindu(23 January 2015).
- ↑ Gogoi allocates portfolios to new Assam ministers-Politics News , Firstpost(26 January 2015).
- ↑ Gogoi allocates portfolios to new Assam ministers-Politics News , Firstpost. Firstpost(2015-01-26). Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- ↑ Minister Ajanta Neog Conferred with. eastern-today.com. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ Assam bags best Infrastructure Development State Award. indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
- ↑ Former Congress leaders Ajanta Neog & Rajdeep Gowala joined BJP. Times of India. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
14. Assam: Final list of ministers in Himanta's cabinet
https://guwahatitimes.com/assam-final-list-of-council-of-ministers-2/