New Delhi: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty became the Press Club of India (PCI)'s first woman president on Sunday (December 14) after winning the election to press body's top post.

Pisharoty, who was elected vice president of the PCI in its 2024 polls and who was until recently national affairs editor at The Wire, won 1,019 votes while her opponents Atul Mishra and Arun Sharma were left behind with 129 and 89 votes respectively.

Her team won all office and managing committee posts, marking a 21-0 clean sweep of the elections held on Saturday.

Jatin Gandhi was elected vice president with 1,029 votes, defeating Prahlad Singh Rajput by a margin of more than 900. Afzal Imam was elected secretary-general with 948 votes, trouncing Gyan Prakash by oversssss 700 votes.

Aditi Rajput and P.R. Sunil were elected treasurer and joint secretary, respectively, unopposed.

The 16-member managing committee will now comprise Niraj Kumar, who won the highest number of votes at 932; Abhishek Kumar Singh (with 911 votes); deputy editor at The Wire, Jahnavi Sen (903); Ashok Kaushik (892); Kallol Bhattacharjee (882); Praveen Jain (878); Agraj Pratap Singh (865); Manoj Sharma (861); Nyanima Basu (851); P.B. Suresh (838); V.P. Pandey (833); Prem Bahukhandi (831); Sneha Bhura (829); Javed Akhtar (823); Rezaul Hasan Laskar (781); and Sunil Kumar (780).

Sunday's result, Pisharoty said, “reflects the collective confidence of the Press Club of India members in our panel’s vision and long-standing commitment to upholding the values of free, fair and responsible journalism”.

Outgoing secretary-general Neeraj Thakur said that the election of the PCI's first woman president “stands as a powerful symbol of progress and a reaffirmation of the Club’s dedication to equality, diversity and democratic values”.

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