Manipur Election 2022: Will surely win if BJP didn't manipulate EVMs, says JD(U) leader Brinda

By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 10, 2022, 11:20 AM IST

She is one of the 38 candidates fielded by the Janata Dal-United (JD-U). Her constituency, Yaiskul, has the highest concentration of Brahmins and members of Manipur’s royalty.

Making a political statement with silence does not translate into electoral success for women in Manipur. Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who fasted for almost 16 years against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, found it out the hard way in 2017.

A candidate drawing a lot of attention in Manipur is Thounaojam Brinda, a 2012 batch former cop who named the Chief Minister in a drug scandal and is now contesting on a Janata Dal (United) ticket from Yaiskul constituency. She is taking on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Thokchom Satyabrata Singh.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

As vote counting is underway, Manipur’s decorated lady police officer Thounaojam Brinda who joined JD(U), was quoted by News18 saying that she will definitely win from Yaiskul constituency “if the BJP government didn’t manipulate the EVM.” JD(U) will get 8 to 10 seats, she said.

In 2017, contesting against the then Congress Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the Thoubal constituency, she polled 90 votes, the lowest among the five candidates her party had fielded. Women who speak out have met a similar fate in the State’s electoral battle. But Thounaojam Brinda, an ex-police officer, is confident of breaking the trend in Manipur’s “male-dominated politics fuelled by money and muscle power”.

She is one of the 38 candidates fielded by the Janata Dal-United (JD-U). Her constituency, Yaiskul, has the highest concentration of Brahmins and members of Manipur’s royalty.

Brinda as she began her campaigning, going door-to-door to convince voters why she is a better choice. Micro meetings, she said, are key to her campaign. When asked if voted to power, what would her priority be, Brinda had a clear answer, “Stopping the drug cartel.”

She also claimed the support of most voters of Yaiskul to make a difference to the Manipuri society as a whole by becoming a lawmaker.

For more reliable and latest news