Pranati Phukan

Pranati Phukan (née Chetia; born 24 April 1963) is a former minister, deputy speaker and member of Assam Legislative Assembly.

[1] Phukan was the Indian National Congress candidate for the Naharkatia seat in 1996, the same constituency her late husband had contested in 1991 but lost to Sashakamal Handique.

In the 2006 Assam Legislative Assembly Election, she was reelected as the Indian National Congress candidate for Naharkatia.

[5]On 31 May 2006, she was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

[6] She was led to the chair by Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Leader of the Opposition Brindabon Goswami.

On 30 May 2011 she was made Minister for Sericulture, Handlooms, Textile and Cultural Affairs in the Tarun Gogoi cabinet.

When asked about her seeking of reelection, she stated "the decision to contest was not an easy one … It was because of the insistence of my supporters that I could gather the courage to contest. "