Imlibenla Wati on her motivation to contest in the upcoming Mokokchung municipal council election from general category
Morung Express News
Mokokchung | December 27
On Monday, when Imlibenla Wati, who had recently stepped out of the podium after crowned as 1st runner-up at the Miss Super Talent World, 2016 announced her desire to contest in the Mokokchung Municipal Council election from Aongza Ward, it virtually and literally created a rumble in the social media platforms and the kitchen hearths.
With mixed reactions in the social media platforms, bloggers argued why a 21-year old beauty queen, at such a young age and with no political experience, should be driven to a “dubious corrupted world of politics.” At the kitchen hearths, the murmur of consternation as to why a “little girl” should dare throw away her educational career and even consider contesting for a position where she has “no rightful share.”
In between, the fate of whether the Mokokchung Municipal Election would be held or not also remains to be seen - with an obstinate Ao Senden unyielding in its stand to grant consent for the conduct of the municipal election if the 33% women reservation is in place.
Imlibenla, however, is not seeking a seat to the municipal council through the women reservation quota but plans to contest from general category-which means contesting head-to-head with the men folk.
Talking to The Morung Express, Imlibenla on Tuesday sought to enlighten on her decision and motivation to contest for the municipal election. Her primary impetus is good leadership. “I always had a hope and desire that our children should inherit a better tomorrow compared to the world we lived and was willing to work towards that. As I travel around and saw the blessings of good leadership and proper laws in other countries, it educated on me the value of good leadership. And being a daughter of Mokokchung, I want to contribute to my hometown as a member of MMC,” she stated.
Imlibenla also has her election manifesto ready. It prioritizes on economic freedom with focus on the common people. According to the beauty queen, she intends to cut down on regulations so that the underprivileged can more easily participate in the market economy thereby contributing towards their prosperity.
She also envisions introducing policies that will strengthen women economic involvement through entrepreneurship, invest in building infrastructure and public health and apply innovative and environmentally friendly methods of waste management. Quoting Margaret Thatcher, her mantra is, “Economic freedom is where all our other freedom depends.”
Imlibenla also argued that being young, as was the apprehension of many, is not a problem but a solution. “We need to move away from the politics where we see youth as a problem to be solved by politicians. Youths are not a problem but a solution to many of our problems,” she asserted.
According to Imlibenla, she expects to bring the voice of the youth to be articulated in the table of decision-making and more policies being implemented to expand the arena of women participation in our economy.
At 21, if Imlibenla who is currently pursuing her BA LLB, gets the go ahead to contest in the municipal election, she will inarguably be the youngest contender.
