Baryl Vanneihsangi, belonging to the
Zoram People’s Movement-ZPM, won from Aizawl South-III constituency by 1,414
votes in the recent Assembly elections to become the youngest MLA of Mizoram at
32.
The ZPM, despite being the newest party
in Mizoram rose to prominence swiftly and won the election by taking 27 of 40
seats, decimating the Mizo National Front or MNF.
Baryl Vanneihsangi joined the other two women
to be elected to the Mizoram Assembly and is already a known figure through her
profession as a radio jockey with considerable followers of over 252k on Instagram.
Reacting about her newly-achieved feat
in the political arena, the former TV presenter expressed, “I just want to tell
all the women out there that our gender doesn’t stop us from doing anything
that we like and wish to pursue. It doesn’t prevent us from taking up something
that we are passionate about. My message to them is that regardless of which
community or social strata they belong to, if they want to take up something
they should just go for it.”
Vanneihsangi, who reportedly has no criminal
records against her, completed Masters in Arts from the North Eastern Hill
University in Shillong. She has also worked as a corporator in the Aizawl
Municipal Corporation.
Out of the 174 candidates contesting the
Mizoram election, only 16 were women. Of them, two contested in two
constituencies each, making it 18 seats having women candidates fighting the Assembly
elections.
The other two women are ZPM’s Lalrinpuii
and MNF’s Prova Chakma. The outgoing Mizoram Assembly had no women MLAs.
NE Watch Desk
