How women performed in the recent North-East polls

The three North-east elections have produced mixed results with regards to women’s representation. On the one hand, history has been made in the state of Nagaland, as Hekani Jakhalu and Salhoutuono Kruse, both NDPP candidates, are the first two women elected to the state assembly since its creation in 1963. Women also make 15% of the new assembly in Tripura, crossing the 10% threshold for the first time. The larger picture however shows that the situation of women’s representation has hardly improved. Only 7%, 13% and 4% of the candidates fielded by major parties in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland respectively, were women.

This is not a new phenomenon. Historical data shows the extent of exclusion of women in these three states. In Meghalaya and Tripura, women account for only 5% of all candidates who have contested since the early 1960s. Of the 2,508 people who contested a state election in Nagaland since 1964, only 24 were women.

The first woman elected in the Meghalaya state assembly was Miriam D Shira, in 1978. Two of the three women elected this time are career politicians. Dr. Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh from East Shillong won for the fourth time. She started her political career by contesting on a UDP ticket in 2008 and has won every election since. She is the daughter of a former MP and Speaker of the Meghalaya assembly. Her brother, Robert Garnett Lyngdoh, was a MLA who also served as the Home Minister in the Government of Meghalaya. Miani D. Shira from Ampati is one of the five candidates elected on a Trinamool ticket. She is the daughter of ex-chief minister Mukul Sangma, a Congress veteran who recently shifted allegiances. The third woman in the new assembly is Santa Mary Shylla (NPP) from Sutnga Saipung. She is a first-time contestant and is also the first woman to ever be elected in Jaintia Hills.