Let's meet Anuradha Rana — the youngest Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the 14th Assembly of the state of Himachal Pradesh.
From Lahaul and Spiti, at the age of 31, Rana has taken up the cause of developing the region by resolving to make tourism attractive and work on the development of education and health services, as stated in a report by ANI. She is from the Indian National Congress (INC).
It was yesterday, Wednesday, June 14, that Rana was sworn in. It may be noted that in 52 years, she is the first woman to win the seat of Lahaul-Spiti.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Rana shared, "The priority is to work for the overall development of my district. We would like to attract tourism to the district, and also improve education and health services."
"We would like the Central government should ensure the rights of tribals are protected. I am the first tribal woman legislator. This will encourage women to come up in this field. We will work for the upliftment of women," she said.
Rana said she would work dedicatedly towards the development of the district and the betterment of the people.
It may be recalled that the Lahaul and Spiti by-elections were held after as many as six Congress legislators had defected to the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) earlier this year.
BJP leader Ram Lal Markanda was at number two while Ravi Thakur, the former Congress MLA from Lahaul and Spiti, who contested on a BJP ticket, was at number three.
