Manipur polls: CM Ibobi Singh, Irom Sharmila file nomination

Activist Irom Sharmila and Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, who is seeking a fourth term, on Thursday filed their nominations for Thoubal Assembly seat in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Sharmila filed her nominations on behalf of her Peoples’ Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), which is making an electoral debut, while Ibobi Singh for Congress.

Anti-AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) crusader Irom Sharmila, who ended her 16-year-long hunger strike in August 2016, will be one of the main opponent against the Congress veteran in Thoubal.

She reached Thoubal on her bicycle, covering a distance of about 20 kilometres from Imphal, flanked by her party activists.

PRJA is hoping to make an impact using alternative political practices.

Ibobi Singh, the three time chief minister of Manipur, is eyeing for a fourth term in office after being elected successively in 2002, 2007 and 2012 respectively.

Polling for the 60-member Manipur Assembly will take place in two phases on March 4 and March 8 respectively, results for which will be declared on March 11.

In the last Assembly polls, the Congress had won 42 seats and Okram Ibobi Singh was re-elected as the chief minister of the state.