Pratima Union cabinet

Agartala, Jan 29: Pratima Bhowmik, who won from West Tripura Lok Sabha seat in 2019, is the first-ever permanent resident of the state to join the Union cabinet. Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik will file a nomination on Monday in Sonamura Subdivision in the Sipahijala district of Tripura.

She will contest from the Dhanpur assembly constituency on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket as the saffron party has released the list of candidates for the Tripura poll slated on February 16.

After getting the ticket for the Dhanpur seat, Bhoumik tweeted, “We will surely win. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, National President JP Nadda Ji, and Home Minister Amit Shah Ji for nominating me as a BJP candidate from Dhanpur Assembly Constituency.”

In 2021 Pratima Bhoumik scripted history by becoming the first politician from Tripura to be made a union minister. She became Minister of the State Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the Second Modi ministry when the cabinet overhaul happened. She became the first Central Minister from Tripura.

Also Read: BJP names Papiya Datta for Agartala Assembly seat in Tripura Polls

First-time MP Bhoumik, who is popularly known as ‘Pratima Di’, was elected from the West Tripura constituency in the last general elections in 2019.

All you need to know about ‘Pratima Di’s life journey

  • She was born on 28 May 1969 in Bornarayan, Dhanpur, Sonamura.
  • In 1991 she joined the BJP at the age of 20 before completing her graduation.
  • She was the first graduate from her village.
  • In 1991 she became the Mandal President of Dhanpur Constituency.
  • She is the youngest state Committee member of BJP Tripura.
  • Her father was a farmer and their main source of livelihood is farming.
  • She has contested her first election in 1998 against Manik Sarkar, former CM of Tripura & who got a 12% of the vote.
  • In 2003 she became the District President of the Undivided Sepahijala District.
  • She was 2 time State Vice-President of BJP Mahila Morcha & One-time Vice-President of BJYM Tripura.
  • In 2007 she became the State President of BJP Mohila Morcha.
  • From 2011-2014 she was the State Vice-President of BJP Tripura for respectively 2 terms.
  • In 2016 she became the General Secretary of BJP Tripura Pradesh, During that period for the first time BJP came to power in 2018.
  • In 2018 she again contested the Dhanpur Constituency against the then Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and lost the election by a narrow margin.
  • In 2019 she contested for Loksabha Election from 01 Tripura West Parliamentary Constituency and won the election by a margin of 3 Lakh 5 Thousand Votes.
  • In 2021 she became the first Union Minister from Tripura in the 2nd Modi Cabinet. She is serving as MoS in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India.