The Bharatiya Janata Party has created history by sending the first-ever woman MP to Rajya Sabha from Nagaland. S Phangnon Konyak is the BJP Nagaland Mahila Morcha president and was elected unopposed. She took oath in the Rajya Sabha in traditional attire wearing Naga clothes and jewellery on Monday.
Nagaland is the only state in the country with no Opposition. In the 60-member assembly, BJP has 12 legislators while the NDPP has 21 MLAs, NPF 25, and two Independent MLAs. All of them joined hands in September 2021 to form the United Democratic Alliance for facilitating an early solution to the Naga political dialogue.
The Naga People’s Front (NPF) was eager to field its own candidate for the Rajya Sabha but backed out at the last moment, paving way for the unopposed selection of Konyak.
Who is S Phangnon Konyak?
A resident of Mon district in Nagaland, 44-year-old Konyak holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University. She holds the distinction of being the first woman MP from Nagaland in the Rajya Sabha. Before her, late Rano M Shaiza was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977. Konyak did her schooling from Holy Cross Higher Secondary School, Dimapur and did post-graduation – Master of Arts in English – from Daulat Ram College of the University of Delhi in 2002. She started her political career as a student activist and joined the BJP in 2017. She was assigned the responsibility of strengthening the party’s Mahila Morcha in the state in 2020.
Konyak thanked the party leaders after her swearing-in. “As I stepped into Rajya Sabha today, I could fully feel the responsibility & the trust that was being reposed in me. I will forever remember the oath. Will do everything in my capacity to make BJP, Narendra Modi ji & party leadership proud of the faith they have shown!” she said.