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Journalism of Courage
When Iron Lady, Irom Sharmila decided to end 16 years of fasting against AFSPA in Manipur, people were surprised. But what really shocked everyone was her decision to join politics and fight the controversial rule in a democratic way. Many reports suggested that the anti-AFSPA activist lost people’s support with her decision to end her long hunger strike, which also kept her under house arrest for several years. And with the 2017 Assembly elections in Manipur result declared, there was no denying that the Iron Lady had little support.
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Sharmila, who was contesting against current Chief Minister and Congress candidate Okram Ibobi Singh in Thoubal, lost the election, reported news agency ANI. A first-time candidate losing an election to a three-time CM might not be surprising but the margin was quite shocking. Sharmila managed to garner less than 100 votes while Ibobi secured over 15,000 votes. The defeat is a huge blow to Sharmila’s aim to repeal AFSPA from the state and to bring about a change in politics. An emotional Irom Sharmila broke down after losing elections in Thoubal. Speaking to Indian Express, the activist said that she will never contest elections again.
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Many took to Twitter to express their shock at the results. There were quite a few who sympathetic to the activist-turned-politician and said that “Manipur doesn’t deserve her”. Few also alleged that monetary help taken from AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal too angered the people, as “no one likes Kejriwal”. Her shocking 90 votes, left people on the micro-blogging site baffled as many failed to comprehend how a true candidate loses when politicians with a criminal background can win with great margins.
Sample reactions here.
https://twitter.com/Being_Outspoken/status/840500328005042176
https://twitter.com/S_FaizAhmad/status/840499358143397889
https://twitter.com/VidhuPopli/status/840499220390006784
https://twitter.com/NSMlive/status/840498395869396992
https://twitter.com/Being_Outspoken/status/840498171713355776
https://twitter.com/happyfock/status/840496742109868032
https://twitter.com/teslaholic/status/840487674561495040
https://twitter.com/themayukhsutra/status/840501006588874752
https://twitter.com/mehtasatya07/status/840503255222251526
