For the first time in 60 years, two women from Nagaland were elected as Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) for the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in the recent state Assembly elections.
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| Two Women Script History in Nagaland by Winning State Assembly Elections After 60 Years |
WA NorthEast: The recent Nagaland Assembly elections witnessed a historic moment as two women candidates, Salhoutuonuo Kruse and Hekani Jakhalu, won their respective seats and became Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) for the first time in 60 years. Both of them are members of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and scripted history by becoming the first women to run for state Assembly.
Kruse won from the Western Angami Assembly constituency, and Jakhalu won from Dimapur lll constituency. It is worth noting that both the chief ministers of Assam and Nagaland, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Neiphiu Rio, campaigned for Kruse. Jakhalu, on the other hand, is a lawyer, social entrepreneur, and faculty member at Delhi University. She is known for founding YouthNet, a non-profit organization that focuses on youth development, women's empowerment, and minority rights. Jakhalu has also studied law in the United States and received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award from the Indian President on International Women's Day at Rastrapati Bhavan.
In Nagaland's 60-member Assembly, no woman had been elected since the state's inception in 1963. However, this year, four women, including Jakhalu and Kruse, ran for office. Rano M Shaiza was the only woman elected to the Lok Sabha in Nagaland in 1977. S Phangnon Konyak became the first woman to hold a seat in the BJP's Rajya Sabha in Nagaland when she was elected in 2022.
The Nagaland assembly election saw the ruling NDPP-BJP alliance win five seats and lead in 34 seats, according to the Election Commission of India. Postal ballots and electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for the election, and the NDPP led in 23 seats, while its alliance partner, the BJP, led in 11 seats. A 40:20 seat-sharing agreement governed the election between the BJP and the NDPP. From Tyui's seat, BJP nominee and deputy chief minister Y Patton prevailed, while NDPP supremo Neiphiu Rio emerged victorious over his closest rival from the Indian National Congress party, Seyievilie Sachu, by a margin of 92.87 percent votes.
Also Read: Neiphiu Rio Leads NDPP-BJP Alliance to Victory in Nagaland Assembly Elections
