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Watch | Manipur Elections 2017: Making her way in, Irom Sharmila claims she intends to clean politics

Irom Chanu Sharmila's party Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) is fielding a handful of candidates in Manipur elections.

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Irom Sharmila addressing people at Khong-Manu ahead of Manipur Elections 2017.
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A few metres off National Highway 39, which leads to Moreh and then on to Myanmar, lies what constitutes the semblance of a road — a dirt path full of mud. It is on this road that a lone Alto is trudging along, trying to bring about a change that people in these parts have rarely seen.

Inside it, armed with a packet of black whistles, Irom Chanu Sharmila, who gave up her 16-year-long fast for a repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), is carrying out her unflinchingly-independent election campaign. Passing alongside the odd tempo dressed in the flags of either the BJP or the Congress, blaring songs that speak of ushering in development, Irom is making good on her promise to enter politics, and remains steadfastly positive.

Her party, Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), is fielding a handful of candidates, with Irom standing for elections from Thoubal, the constituency of Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The party’s symbol is a whistle.

The first stop is Khelakung village in Wabgai constituency. Populated mostly by Muslims, the villagers seem to have a bond with Najima Bibi, a PRJA member, who is contesting the elections from Wabgai. It is here that they are joined by party convenor James Mayengbam.

“I stopped my protest against AFSPA because it was an isolated one. I know that it is important for all of us to come out in support of each other. The Manipuri society is vexed by several problems. AFSPA hasn’t yet been lifted, and the people who went missing have not yet come back,” she tells a gathering, which seems to hang on to her every word.

The next stop, however, isn’t a cakewalk. Sharmila moves to the Khong-Manu locality in Leishentham, and it is clear that she is not welcome in this stronghold of CM Ibobi. The villagers, who come out within seconds, had stopped her from entering the area a day earlier.

But on this day, Sharmila makes her way in. She proceeds to speak to a gathering of people who are clearly not moved by what she has to say. But Sharmila, on her part, says, “People have begged me to stop (campaigning), and Congress workers also come and ask me sometimes to take back my nomination. I cannot do that; politics is a dirty world, and I intend to clean it up.”

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