Two-time legislator Akoijam Mirabai, a minister in the Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government of 2012, is seeking election to the Manipur assembly for a third straight term.
Mirabai has the distinction of staying with the Manipur unit of the Congress despite a mass exodus from the party, which has fielded her again from the Patsoi assembly constituency. She won a close race for the seat in 2017 and refused to be swayed into defecting from the Congress by any other political party.
In Manipur, the 57-year-old is known as a self-made politician who came up the hard way, with no political lineage to boast of and no godparent to groom her. She began as an ordinary party worker and learnt the ropes before entering the assembly for the first time in 2012.
She faced electoral defeat three times before entering the Manipur assembly, her dedication, hard work and connect with the locals finally paying off. She is a single woman who has defied tradition in a conservative society that is Manipur.
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Hiramani, a voter in Patsoi, said Mirabai was a down-to-earth person who had made it in politics on her own merit.
“She is someone who is committed and sticks to her party no matter what,” he said.
Mirabai still has a strong support base in her constituency. As a former minister of social welfare, she is credited with initiating socially impactful development projects, especially for women and children of Patsoi constituency.
Taking her on are candidates for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), National People’s Party (NPP) and the Janata Dal (United), of whom R.K. Rameshwar Singh of the NPP is seen to have the human and financial resources to defeat Mirabai.
Mirabai has managed to build a strong rapport with her constituents over the year as a two time MLA and as someone who entered electoral politics after earning her spurs, locals say.
“Mirabai’s campaign and house visits still draw a large number of supporters,” said one Patsoi resident.
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In her 10 years as a legislator, she has not attracted even a whiff of controversy, another point in her favour.
To be sure, the fact of her being in the opposition in a state governed by the BJP is a limiting factor because it constrains her ability develop the constituency. That may have forced the voters of Patsoi to exercise their choice carefully on February 28, the day the constituency voted.
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