New Delhi/Guwahati
Nagaland came into existence in 1963 but had never had a woman MLA — until Thursday.
Hekani Jakhalu, a 47-year-old tribal lawyer and social entrepreneur who graduated from Delhi University and studied in San Francisco, and social worker Salhoutuonuo Kruse entered the history books by becoming the first women MLAs in Nagaland.
Jakhalu, who has won the Nari Shakti Puraskar, defeated her nearest rival from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Azheto Zhimomi by 1536 votes in a close contest where fortunes fluctuated many a times. Jakhalu polled around 45 percent of the votes while Zhimomi polled around 40 percent votes. She was one of the NDPP candidates for whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned. Jakhalu also runs an NGO called YouthNet, which helps youth pursue business opportunities.
Jakhalu was one of the four women candidates in the fray of the total 183 trying their luck in the Assembly polls. Shortly after her historic win, she said that it was just the first step and she would strive to fulfill her promises including developing Dimapur as a model constituency.
For her part, 56-year-old Kruse defeated her rival Independent candidate Keneizhakho Nakhro from the Western Angami-8 (ST) seat by just seven votes in a nail-biting contest where fortunes swung either ways. But at the end, Kruse won by a mere .05 percent votes bagging 49.74 percent votes compared to 49.69 percent votes of her rival. Knowing it well, she said she won by the “grace of God”.
Campaigning for Kruse, who has “worked in NGOs for 24 long years” and runs a small hotel for a living, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had exhorted people to elect her and make history by giving Nagaland its first woman MLA.
Kruse is the widow of 2018 NDPP candidate late Kevisekho Kruse, who had lost to Nakhro. Interestingly, Nakhro, the sitting MLA from the constituency, was a Naga People’s Front (NPF) member who had switched over along with 20 others to the NDPP. However, the NDPP preferred Kruse over him following which he contested as an Independent.
As for the two other women candidates in the fray, former Chief Engineer of the State Er Kahuli Sema, who was BJP’s lone woman candidate, went down fighting on the Atoizu (ST) seat to her rival, sitting MLA Er Picto, after being ahead for the major part of the counting process.
The fourth women in the fray, Rosy Thomson of Congress, however, could not make a mark as she polled less than 1 percent votes in Tenning (ST).
In March, 2021, S Phangnon Konyak became the first tribal woman Rajya Sabha member from the State. She is the second Naga woman parliamentarian. It was way back in 1977 that Rano M Shaiza was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Konyak was supposed to have a fight but it was an anti-climax as the NPF, which had expressed “strong determination” to field a candidate despite being a part of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that runs an opposition-less government in the state, backed out at the last moment.
