Sangeeta Pisharoty elected first woman President of Press Club of India
New Delhi: Senior journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty was elected President of the Press Club of India on Sunday, becoming the first woman and the first journalist from the Northeast to head the prestigious body.
Pisharoty’s panel registered a clean sweep in the elections, winning all office-bearer and managing committee positions with a decisive 21–0 margin. She secured 1,019 votes, defeating Atul Mishra, who polled 129 votes, and Arun Sharma, who received 89 votes.
Afzal Imam was elected Secretary-General with 948 votes, defeating Gyan Prakash, who secured 290 votes. Jatin Gandhi was elected Vice-President with 1,029 votes, defeating Prahlad Singh Rajput by a margin of over 900 votes. Aditi Rajput was elected Treasurer and P R Sunil Joint Secretary, both unopposed.
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In the elections to the 16-member Managing Committee, Niraj Kumar topped the list with 932 votes, followed by Abhishek Kumar Singh with 911 votes, Jahanvi Sen with 903 votes, Ashok Kaushik with 892 votes, Kallol Bhattacharjee with 882 votes, Praveen Jain with 878 votes, Agraj Pratap Singh with 865 votes, Manoj Sharma with 861 votes, Nyanima Basu with 851 votes, P B Suresh with 838 votes, V P Pandey with 833 votes, Prem Bahukhandi with 831 votes, Sneha Bhura with 829 votes, Javed Akhtar with 823 votes, Rezaul Hasan Laskar with 781 votes, and Sunil Kumar with 780 votes.
Reacting to her election, Pisharoty said the result reflected the collective confidence of Press Club of India members in her panel’s vision and its commitment to free, fair, and responsible journalism.
Outgoing President Gautam Lahiri thanked the members for their support and said the new leadership would continue efforts to make the Club more inclusive, responsive, and relevant to the changing challenges faced by journalists.
Outgoing Secretary-General Neeraj Thakur said the election of the first woman President marked a significant moment in the history of the Press Club of India and reaffirmed its commitment to equality, diversity, and democratic values.
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Everyone should have faith in Shubman, he will win games at World T20: Abhishek
Dharamsala (PTI): Having played alongside Shubman Gill since the age of 12, Abhishek Sharma knows that it is just a matter of time before his currently off-colour best buddy starts winning T20I matches for India, including games in the upcoming T20 World Cup next year.
Gill's selection in the Indian T20I playing eleven has been questioned after a settled Sanju Samson was benched. The vice-captain in the format has managed only 291 runs in 15 innings at a strike-rate of 137.3.
He struck only four sixes in those games and on Sunday against South Africa in the third T20I here, Gill scored a painstaking run-a-ball 28, which didn't matter much since Abhishek (35 off 18 balls) had given the team a rousing start in a chase of a paltry target of 118.
"I'll tell you one thing straight away, that trust me, these two guys are going to win matches in World Cup (in February-March) and in this series as well," Abhishek replied when asked about Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav's poor run of form in the ongoing five-match series which India leads 2-1 right now.
When it came to Gill, his closest friend of more than a decade, Abhishek was predictably protective.
"Because I've been playing with them since so long, especially with Shubman, so I know which match he can win, which conditions, irrespective of the team, whoever it is," he said.
"So I have a lot of faith in him from the beginning, and I hope everyone will see him very soon and everyone will have faith in him," added the world's No.1 T20 batter.
Once Abhishek got out at a team score of 60, India needed more than 10 overs to score the remaining runs with both Gill and Surya not able to bat freely.
"There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers, and as I was batting, I knew that if I gave a good start here, the match could get over in the Powerplay, and that's what happened.
"...that was the plan for the rest of the batters, that they would just knock out or finish the match, so it was a very simple plan after that," Abhishek explained the rationale behind taking it easy after a blistering start.
Abhishek said he had to keep in mind that in cold December evenings in this part of the country, the pacers would get movement both in the air and off the surface.
"Conditions of course, I mean, as a batter you have to keep those things in mind that the ball is swinging a bit or it's seaming a bit, so I tried to play a few shots which is suitable for those wickets and pitches, so that's the plan always."
