Guwahati: Four out of the seven women candidates emerged victorious in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, marking a significant stride towards increased female representation in the 60-member legislative body.
This development has elevated the number of women legislators from three in 2019 to four this time, accounting for 6.6% of the total seats.
Among the triumphant women candidates, all four are from the BJP. The Arunachal assembly has witnessed a total of 17 women representatives since the first assembly elections in 1978, with 59 women leaders contesting during this period.
The increased representation of women in the current assembly marks a significant stride towards gender parity and inclusive governance in the state.
Tsering Lhamu, the widow of former lawmaker Jambey Tashi, won the Lumla seat by a margin of 1,531 votes. Earlier, she had won the by-election to the constituency in February last year, after her husband’s death on November 2, 2022, due to cardiac arrest.
Dasanglu Pul won the Hayuliang seat in the Anjaw district unopposed.
Another BJP nominee, Chakat Aboh, won the Khonsa West seat by a margin of 804 votes. Aboh had first won the seat in a by-election in 2019 after her husband Tirong Aboh of the NPP was assassinated by NSCN militants on May 21 that year, a day before the declaration of results.
Nyabi Jini Dirchi, a newcomer, defeated sitting MLA Gokar Basar in the Basar constituency by a margin of 1,791 votes.
In 2019, three women had won in the assembly polls, including Dasanglu Pul, Gum Tayeng from Dambuk, and Jummum Ete Deori from the Leka seat.