New Delhi: Hekani Jakhalu of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)’s Hekani Jakhalu became the first-ever woman to be elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on Thursday. As counting was underway in the state on Thursday afternoon, Jakhalu was the sixth person to be officially declared winner by the Election Commission of India.
Though the state has had 13 state Assemblies so far, not one woman has been elected as an MLA to date. Jakhalu received 45.16 per cent of the 31,874 votes in the constituency.
The first-time legislator told The Indian Express that she has four points on her agenda.
“My other goal is to make Dimapur III a model constituency. It has been neglected for too long. I want everyone to have access to their basic amenities and rights. And lastly, I will be fighting for minority communities. They make up half the population in the state and are the ones who are actually electing the MLAs and ministers of the constituency. But once the MLAs are voted into power, these people are forgotten,” she said, adding, “I want to make sure that I get a good position now that ministries and portfolios will be formed. My team is working on it with me.”
