Nagaland, which got statehood in 1963, has held fourteen assembly elections so far, but no woman legislator has been elected so far. This time, out of four candidates, Hekani Jakhalu from Dimapur III seat and Salhutuano Kruse from West Angami have won. Both are members of the ruling NDPP.
Hackney Zakhalu and Salhutuano Crus. (Photo Credits: Twitter/@Neiphiu_Rio)
New Delhi: Hekani Jakhalu on Thursday became the first woman to be elected as an MLA in Nagaland. Jakhlu, who contested from the Dimapur III constituency as an NDPP (an ally of the BJP) candidate, defeated her nearest rival Azeto Zhimomi of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) by 1,536 votes.
Jakhalu, 48, is a lawyer and social worker, who runs an NGO named ‘Youthnet’ for a long time.
Significantly, fourteen assembly elections have been held in this north-eastern state, which got statehood in 1963, but till date no woman MLA had been elected. Earlier, only 20 women contested the assembly elections in the state, in which the maximum number of five women candidates contested in the 2018 elections, however, three of these candidates did not get even one-sixth of the total votes.
Coming from Toluvi, Jakhalu had said during the election campaign that ‘the society in Nagaland has been very patriarchal but now the attitude is changing. Here women are forced to think that they cannot compete with men in politics. We want to show that barriers can be crossed.
Along with him, Salhutuano Kruse, who came from West Angami on the ticket of his party, has also won his seat. He has defeated his nearest rival Kenijakho Nakhro by just seven votes.
History has been made!
Heartfelt congratulations, Mrs. @k_salhoutuonuo and Mrs. @Hekani Jakhalu on winning Assembly Elections. You carry the hopes of women and future generations as changemakers and role models. I hope you will continue to be passionate and courageous. pic.twitter.com/goMlR3fEXD
— Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) March 2, 2023
Kruse, 56, has been working as a social worker for a long time, where she has been the president and advisor of the Angami Women’s Organisation.
According to the Indian Express, her late husband Keviskho Kruse had contested the 2018 elections from the same seat as an NDPP candidate, but was defeated by Kenijakho Nakhro, who then contested as a Naga People’s Front candidate.
Although Nakhro left NPF last year and joined NDPP. This time, after not getting ticket from the party, he contested as an independent and gave a tough fight to Kruse.
This time four women were in the fray, where Congress fielded Rosie Thomson from Tanning seat and Kahuli Sema from BJP’s Atoiju seat.
It is notable that last year BJP’s S. Phangnon Konyak became the first woman to reach the Rajya Sabha from Nagaland. Konyak is also the second Naga woman MP. Before her, there was only one woman MP from the state – Rano M. Shaiza, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977.
It should be known that the society of Nagaland is said to be inclusive from gender point of view, but electoral politics has been opposing women. An example of this was seen in the year 2017, when the government decided to give 33 per cent reservation to women in urban body elections.
After this, the tribal units of the state had lodged a strong protest under the banner of Naga Hoho, their top Naga tribal organization. There were violent demonstrations in the state regarding this, in which two people lost their lives.
They said that this decision was against the Naga customary laws enshrined in Article 371(A). This article gives special status to the state and protects the traditional way of life. This protest had increased so much that the then Chief Minister TR Zeliang had to resign.
In April 2022, the state government again said that it was ready to implement 33% reservation, although the urban body elections were not held yet.
The Naga Mothers Association (NMA) is an influential civil society organization in the state. In January this year, the NMA wrote a letter to all parties urging them to give tickets to women candidates in the assembly elections.
read this also…
Categories: Politics, Special, North East
