Ahead of Int’l women’s day, 2 NE states induct women as Cabinet ministers

While, S Kruse became the first woman minister of Nagaland, Ampareen Lyngdoh, Meghalaya's longest serving woman MLA, has once again become the lone woman Minister in the state Cabinet

Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the two Northeastern states of Meghalaya and Nagaland has inducted two women MLAs as Cabinet ministers.

While Salhoutuonuo Kruse of NDPP became the first ever woman minister of Nagaland, Ampareen Lyngdoh, Meghalaya’s longest serving woman MLA, has once again become the lone female face among the 12 Meghalaya Cabinet ministers sworn in today.

The decision of the NPP led by Conrad Sangma to pick its MLA Ampareen for a ministerial berth in the Meghalaya cabinet and the Nagaland NDPP’s (led by Neiphiu Rio) decision to pick Kruse as one of the cabinet ministers of the state, underlines and highlights how the region is committed and working towards enhancing women empowerment by granting women the same rights as men, and demonstrating in letter and spirit that the phrase “women empowerment” is more than just a buzzword.

Reacting to Kruse, who also happens to be one among the two women from Nagaland to have been elected as MLAs for the first time ever in Nagaland’s election history, Nagaland BJP president and social media sensation Tenjen Imna Along who has always been vocal about women’s rights and issues, congratulated all the women of Nagaland on the historic day today as the state got its first-ever woman minister and gave a thumbs up to women empowerment in the state and the region.

Kruse and Hekani Jakhalu, also from NDPP, were the two women candidates to have won the Nagaland elections this time.

Kruse and Jakhalu had created history by becoming the first-ever women to have won Nagaland Assembly polls and get elected as MLAs.

Nagaland had 13 Assembly polls but had never elected a single woman as MLA despite the fact that many women candidates were in the fray.
BJP’s Kahuli Sema and Congress’s Rosy Thomson were the other two candidates but they did not win.

Kruse won the Western Angami seat by defeating Independent candidate Keneizhakho Nakhro by 7 votes.

Kruse has served as president and advisor of the Angami Women Organisation. Her late husband Kevisekho Kruse had been an NDPP candidate from the Western Agami seat in 2018. He, however, had lost to the NPF’s Keneizakho Nakhro. Kruse is also a business woman and a well-known hotelier of Nagaland.

For Ampareen Lyngdoh, the 58-year-old veteran Meghlaya politician, this would be her third term as a minister. She has served as the Labour Affairs, Information Technology, Information & Broadcasting, Housing, Urban Development Affairs, and Housing minister from 2013 to 2018, and as Minister for Education from 2009 to 2013 during her tenure as a Congress legislator.

Ampareen, now a NPP leader, contested the 2023 elections from her home turf of East Shillong and won the seat for the fourth time in a row by defeating her nearest rival and debutant, IIM Kolkata graduate Manuel Badwar of the Congress by a margin of 1,711 votes. Ampareen Lyngdoh got a total of 6,637 votes while 4,926 votes were polled in favour of Manuel Badwar.

Ampareen belongs to a family of veteran and well-respected politicians of Meghalaya.

Her father, Late Peter G Marbaniang was Lok Sabha MP from 1989 to 1996, Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and a Minister in the Government of Meghalaya.

Her elder brother Late RG Lyngdoh, was a popular politician and Meghalaya’s home and education minister.

Ampareen resigned from Congress in December 2022 and immediately joined the NPP.

Ampareen’s sister Jasmine too fought the Assembly elections 2023 for the first time against Meghalaya political heavyweights — TMC president and political veteran of the state, Charles Pyngrope and Jemino Mawtoh of UDP from Nongthymmai but did not win.

By Lipika Roy

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