Sharmila takes AFSPA fight to Ibobi's constituency

THOUBAL/IMPHAL: Activist Irom Sharmila Chanu on Thursday launched an intense election campaign against chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in his home constituency of Thoubal.
Sharmila also kicked off the campaign of her party — People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) — in Wabagai constituency of neighbouring Kakching district on the same day. The PRJA has fielded Najima Bibi against sitting Congress MLA Faijur Rahman in Wabagai.
In Thoubal, Sharmila visited seven houses and asked residents to give her a chance to fight for the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA).While ending her 16-year fast against the controversial act in August last year, and subsequently announcing her decision to enter the political ring, Sharmila had said her campaign would revolve around Ibobi Singh’s failure to remove AFSPA in Manipur.
“My aim is to remove the act and bring about true democracy through the political process,” an emotional Sharmila told voters as she campaigned in the Thoubal Awang Leikai.
The constituency is a prestigious one and has been represented by Ibobi Singh for the last two terms. Though Sharmila is a political novice beside the veteran Congressman, many in Manipur and beyond are keeping their eyes firmly on Thoubal. The chief minister, on the other hand, has so far not uttered a single word on or against Sharmila ever since she announced she would contest against him.
At Wabagai, she was accompanied by PRJA convener Erendro Leichombam. The 33-year-old Leichombam, who will himself contest from the prestigious Thangmeiband constituency of Imphal West, said PRJA would field at least seven candidates in the polls; five names have already been finalized.
“Many aspiring candidates have approached us for a ticket. We have so far finalized five names. The remaining will be confirmed soon,” Leichombam said.
The AFSPA, which is the focus of Sharmila’s campaign, was enacted by Parliament in 1958 with the aim of suppressing the Naga insurgency led by the late AZ Phizo in what was then the Naga Hills district (now Nagaland) of undivided Assam. The entire state of Manipur came under AFSPA in 1980 when insurgency intensified here. Incidentally, AFSPA was removed from seven assembly segments of the Imphal municipal area by the Congress government of Ibobi Singh in 2004 but it remains in force in the rest of the state.
The polls will be held in two phases in the state – 38 seats will vote on March 4 and 22 on March 8. Most parties have already started campaigning, especially in the valley districts.