Who is Salhoutuonuo Kruse who created history by becoming Nagaland’s first woman minister

Salhoutuonuo Kruse of NDDP was among the two women candidates to have won the 2023 Assembly polls for the first time ever in the history of Nagaland Assembly

Nagaland got its first-ever woman minister today. Salhoutuonuo Kruse of NDPP created history by becoming the first-ever woman to be sworn in as Minister in the history of Nagaland.

The 56-year-old Kruse was among the foun women candidates who had contested the Nagaland Assembly elections this time.

She and Hekani Jakhalu also from NDPP were the two women candidates to have won the elections.

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

BJP’s Kahuli Sema and Congress’s Rosy Thomson were the other two candidates but they did not win.

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.

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

Kruse is well known as a civil society activist and 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 businesswoman and a well-known hotelier in Nagaland.

By Lipika Roy

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