Pratima Bhowmik Becomes First Female MP From Tripura To Get Union Cabinet Berth

Pratima Bhowmik is the first permanent resident of the north-eastern state to get a berth in the new Union Cabinet.

Pratima Bhoumik sworn in as Union Cabinet Minister (Image: PTI)

Dispur: 52 year-old Pratima Bhowmik has become the first female MP from Tripura to get a berth in the new Union Cabinet. She is also the first permanent resident of the north-eastern state to do so, as she took oath as a Union Minister on Wednesday.

Pratima Bhowmik, a science graduate, has been a BJP activist and leader since 1991. In 1998 and 2018, she fought for the Assembly from the Dhanpur constituency, losing both times to former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Bhowmik later ran for the West Tripura Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and won by 3,05,689 votes, defeating veteran MP Shankar Prasad Dutta.

Pratima hails from the village of Dhanpur and used to play Kho-kho and Kabaddi at the state level. She is the daughter of a school teacher and has three siblings. She used to practice farming at Baranarayan, Sonamura, her native village.

Her mother, Kanan Bhowmik exclaimed her pride and extended her gratitude to the PM. She said, “Feeling extremely good, extremely happy, and thanks to Modiji she is becoming a Union Minister from Tripura. This could not happen without the blessings of the people of this state.”

Vice President of BJP Tripura, Rajib Bhattacharjee also said, “Modiji's words of woman empowerment and representation has come true today.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his biggest reshuffle since assuming office in 2014 on Wednesday, inducting 36 new faces into his cabinet, promoting seven junior ministers, and removing 12 ministers.