An Indian senior journalist and writer from Assam Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty made a, historic milestone On December 14, 2025, by becoming the first journalist from the Northeast and the first woman journalist to be elected President of the Press Club of India (PCI) of the most powerful journalist bodies of the country.
A rare and historic day not only for North east India but the for the entire country, Pisharoty led a clean sweep in the elections with her team winning all office-bearer and managing committee positions. Securing an emphatic 21–0 victory in the polls held on Saturday, December 13. The counting of votes took place on Sunday. Chief election commissioner MMC Sharma and his team announced the result at the PCI lawns in the evening to a full house of journalists. Pisharoty secured 1,019 votes while her rivals Atul Mishra and Arun Sharma got 129 and 89 votes, respectively.
Jatin Gandhi emerged victorious as the vice-president candidate polling 1,029 votes, defeating the next rival Prahlad Singh Rajput by a margin of over 900 votes. Aditi Rajput (Treasurer) and PR Sunil (Joint Secretary) were elected unopposed.The managing committee members are Niraj Kumar, Abhishek Kumar Singh, Jahanvi Sen, Ashok Kaushik, Kallol Bhattacharjee, Praveen Jain, Agraj Pratap Singh, Manoj Sharma, Nyanima Basu, P B Suresh, V P Pandey, Prem Bahukhandi, Sneha Bhura, Javed Akhtar, Rezaul Hasan Laskar, and Sunil Kumar
Speaking to East Mojo, Pisharoty described her initial reaction to the win as one of gratitude and responsibility. “My first feeling was gratitude to all the members who thought I could do justice to the position as this position has been given to a woman for the first time. The second feeling is a responsibility of a first journalist from the Northeast to held this position. We have a very talented team, put together very thoughtfully, and I am sure we will be able to do a lot, carry forward what the previous team has done, and also take it a few notches higher,” she said.
Highlighting the significance of her election, Pisharoty noted that “The results reflect the confidence of the PCI members in our panel’s vision and long-standing commitment to upholding the values of free, fair and responsible journalism,” Outgoing President Gautam Lahiri expressed gratitude to PCI members for their trust and support. He asserted that the new team will continue to make the club more inclusive, responsive and relevant to the evolving challenges faced by journalists.