<span style="color: #222222;">In a significant development in the political arena, elections to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly will see three women candidates from the coalition government of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As these political parties have released the list of candidates on Thursday, two women from NDPP and one from BJP will be contesting in this election.<br />''<br />''Ms. Hekani Jakhalu from NDPP will be contesting from 3-Dimapur-III Assembly Constituency while Ms. Salhoutuonuo Kruse also from NDPP will be contesting from the 8th Western Angami Assembly Constituency and Ms. Kahuli Sema from BJP from 32 Atoizu Assembly Constituency.<br />''<br />''For decades, politics in Nagaland have not seen any women representatives in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, as politics is perceived as a male-dominated realm. If the three women candidates win, they will have a place in the decision-making body breaking the gender stereotype roles.<br />''<br />''Ms. Jakhalu is a social entrepreneur who founded YouthNet and is also a lawyer. She was recognised with the Nari Shakti Puraskar award in 2018. Ms. Kruse is a social worker who has been involved with various NGOs and civil society for more than 24  years.<br />''<br />''Ms. Sema was the Engineer-in-Chief of the Nagaland Public Works Department, the first woman Engineer-in-chief among the Sumi community and the second within the Nagas. Ms. Sema has served the government for 34 and half years and took voluntary retirement to play a bigger role.</span><br />