Phangnon Konyak is Nagaland’s first woman Rajya Sabha MP

KOHIMA, March 31 (PTI): S Phangnon Konyak was on Thursday elected unopposed as the Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland.
With the tenure of incumbent Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland K G Kenye ending on April 2, the election was scheduled to be held on Thursday.
Returning officer, Biennial Election to the Council of states, Khruohituonuo Rio informed that as there was only one candidate till the last date for filing nominations, no poll was conducted.
Therefore, Konyak has been declared duly elected unopposed to fill up the vacancy in the Rajya Sabha for the state of Nagaland, she said.
She is the first woman from the state to get a berth in Parliament’s Upper House.
Konyak, the president of BJP Nagaland Mahila Morcha, who stood as the consensus candidate of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), is also the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member from Nagaland to be sent to Parliament.
“S Phangnon Konyak sponsored by the BJP has been declared duly elected uncontested to fill the seat in the Council of States [Rajya Sabha] from Nagaland State, the term of which is due to expire on 2nd April 2022,” chief electoral officer V Shashank Shekhar said in a press release.
In the 60-member assembly, NDPP has 21 MLAs, NPF 25, BJP 12 and two Independent MLAs, all of whom joined hands in September 2021 to form UDA for facilitating an early solution to the vexed Naga political dialogue.
Congratulating Phangnon Konyak on being elected unopposed, chief minister Neiphiu Rio expressed confidence that she will represent Nagaland state exceptionally well.
Rio also wished her the best for a successful tenure.
“It’s a great journey for any woman of Nagaland… it’s historical” said BJP Nagaland president and cabinet minister Temjen Imna Along.
Konyak is in Delhi and could not be reached for comments.