Ranchi
She was far away from the world of politics, and also her home here in the State capital, building her career as a brand manager. But destiny had other plans for her.
Shilpi was forced to quit her corporate job and step into active power politics at the age of 30 after her father Bandhu Tirkey lost his legislatorship following conviction in a disproportionate assets case. Finding none around to carry forward his legacy, Bandhu was compelled to rope in daughter Shilpi.
She won the by-election for Mandar Assembly seat in 2022, after defeating veterans like Gangotri Kujur of BJP and Independent Deo Kumar Dhan. She again won this Assembly seat in 2024 by a comfortable margin. At 33, she went on to become the youngest Minister in the Hemant Soren government. In three years flat, Shilpi’s life has undergone a complete sea change.
The Jharkhand Minister for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Co-operative has today become a role model for thousands of youths, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and who are struggling hard to carve out a niche for themselves.
She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent in Ranchi and Intermediate or Plus Two from St Xavier’s School here. She then, proceeded to Christ University in Bangalore for her BBA course and finally did her masters in marketing and communication from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Thereafter she served at various corporate houses as a Brand Manager for eight years, before destiny dragged her into active power politics.
While her father Bandhu Tirkey continues to be her mentor, the two-term MLA puts to use her corporate experiences for the benefit of the masses. Her skill-sets of being a self-starter with leadership acumen, team management, deadline-management, creativeness, execution and delivery among others are coming in handy for her as she leads three crucial portfolios.
“Agriculture still happens to be the main source of livelihood of a majority of people in my State. Rural women are actively associated with it. My challenge is to see that they too flourish like the ones associated with other corporate sectors, ” she told The Indian Tribal.
Though she has no administrative experience, it doesn’t reflect on her as she speaks with elan on subjects as varied as cold storages, lac production, marginal farmers, scientific farming etc.
As a Minister, her daily routine is a hectic one — from chairing departmental meetings to being chief guests at social meets; from official tours to different places in the State to attending party programmes– the Congress MLA has her hands full.
“Yoga, traveling and reading are my hobbies. Every day, I give adequate time to yoga exercises. I have never been abroad. I want to thoroughly see and understand my homeland first. Whenever I find time, I stick to books, especially the ones involving important political happenings,” she shared on how she keeps herself going.
She is also active on social media with over 70,000 followers across various platforms. Recently, her alma mater Christ University, Bangalore felicitated her as a “changemaker and society-contributor”.
Her husband Sunny Lakra is a Marine Engineer and stays off-shore most of the time. But he has been her regular source of emotional support. Her father is her political mentor while she idolises former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
