Ajanta Neog was named Assam’s finance minister in May 2021, she became the first woman to hold the post in the state’s history. At the time, she was one of only two women in the cabinet and among just six women MLAs in the 126-member Assam Assembly.
A veteran legislator from Golaghat in Upper Assam, Neog’s rise was not sudden. First elected in 2001, she has since won five consecutive assembly elections, making her one of the longest-serving women legislators in Assam. Her record is notable because those victories came under two rival party banners: she won four times as a Congress candidate in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 before switching to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2021 polls, when she retained her seat once again.
Under former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, she held key portfolios including Public Works Department, Urban Development and Housing, gaining a reputation as an administrator with a focus on roads and civic infrastructure. In the current BJP government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, she has handled finance, social welfare, and later women and child development.
Neog’s life is tied to Assam’s turbulent decades. She was married to former Congress leader Nagen Neog, who was killed in a 1996 militant attack allegedly by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Her mother, Rebati Das, was elected from Jalukbari in 1972, a constituency now represented by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
In Golaghat, Neog’s most visible work has been infrastructure. Supporters frequently cite the constituency’s road network, considered among the better maintained in Assam.
Her tenure has not been without criticism. During the 2011 elections, sections of the tea tribe community, organised under the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association, publicly accused her of neglecting long-pending demands and failing to adequately represent their interests. River erosion caused by the Dhansiri River also remains a recurring grievance in parts of Golaghat, where residents say displacement and loss of agricultural land have not been fully addressed.
As women and child development minister, Neog has sought to foreground welfare administration. Among the measures publicly associated with her tenure was the increase of one-time retirement assistance for Anganwadi workers and helpers from two lakh to four lakh rupees.
In a state where there is scarce presence of women in legislative politics, her continued presence remains a marker of political resilience.
