BJP does a 'revolution', names women wing chief Phangnon for Rajya Sabha

Nirendra Dev *

Nagaland or for that matter even Mizoram offer some contrasting scenes.

Both the states are progressive with a high education rate. English is also the official language, yet it has a reputation of not sending/electing any woman legislator to the state assembly since statehood in 1963.

Even in Mizoram, the electors have generally favoured menfolk in comparison to women. Mizoram got its first female lawmaker in 1984 when it was still a Union Territory.

The lady who made it first to the legislature was K. Thansiami, who was elected on a Mizoram People's Conference ticket. But things did not move much since then.

Now, the BJP has decided to nominate its women wing chief in Nagaland, S Phangnon Konyak, as the candidate for Rajya Sabha polls. This is certainly a mild revolution in a state which is famous for male chauvinism in lifestyle and more so in electoral politics.

The Nagaland assembly holds the distinction of opposing the Women's Quota Bill when the then Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zhove Lohe in 1997 during S C Jamir rule had passed a unanimous resolution. The NSF too had written to the parliamentary select committee chairperson Geeta Mukherjee, saying the bill went against Naga tradition.

Only in the 1970s, Ms Rano Shaiza was elected as Nagaland MP to the Lok Sabha as a UDF candidate riding the post Emergency wave.

The Nagaland BJP, in their recommendation paper submitted to the central leadership, has said the special committee of party leaders has made the recommendations while trying to respect 'regional dynamics' in the state of Nagaland.

All the four names were from the development-starved Mon-Tuensang region and included two from Konyak tribes in Mon district and two others from Tuensang district.

Ms Phangnon's election should be a smooth affair as three political parties, the BJP, NDPP of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and NPF, are part of the ruling combine in the state.

"Congratulations to BJP Mahila Morcha Nagaland State President Smt.@phangnon for being declared as Rajya Sabha candidate. This shows BJP's focus on empowering Women leaders in the party," tweeted BJP all India Mahila Morcha chief Vanathi Srinivasan.

"Thank you Akka @VanathiBJP for the wishes and grateful to BJP leadership for giving an ordinary karyakarta like me,such a great privilege," said Ms Phangnon Konyak in her missive. The 44-year-old Ms Konyak has a Master's in English literature and hails from the Chingai ward of Mon town.

"Her candidacy is well deserved, and I wish her the very best," tweeted Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton of BJP. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also congratulated her and said, "I wish you the best for the upcoming elections and for all your future endeavours".

In Mizoram, the social opposition to women getting an upper hand is so vocal that in 2011 the Congress-ruled Mizoram government had opposed the Food Security Bill piloted by the Manmohan Singh government that sought to make women the head of the family in the ration cards.

Addressing a workshop of Mizoram legislators in 2009 in Delhi, the first female speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, had underlined that it was high time for the northeastern state to have woman MLAs. Mizoram's only female minister so far has been Lalhlimpui, who was elected to the assembly in 1987 and became a member of the cabinet in the MNF regime under Chief Minister Laldenga, a former rebel leader.

After Lalhlimpui, only after a 27 years break in 2014 Ms C. Lalawmpuii won the Hrangturzo assembly by-election as a Congress nominee.