State polls: Former ‘lady cop’ in Manipur takes on BJP’s law minister

Former Manipur cop Brinda Thounaojam is JD (U) candidate against Manipur law minister Thokchom Satyabrata Singh during the upcoming state assembly elections on February 28.

Thounaojam is known as ‘super cop’ for her role in busting drug gangs in the north eastern state. Initially she showed hesitancy in entering active politics, but later on decided to take the plunge and fielded herself against the BJP from the Yaiskul constituency of Imphal East district.

Thounaojam led a movement against the drugs mafia, but quit after a fallout with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who she accused of helping a drug lord.

The woman ‘super cop’ is confident of victory though. “Congress is a dying party in Manipur, tried and tested. The present MLA Thokchom Satyabrata Singh of BJP has not done much except for providing paper-thin blacktopping to the road. My challenge would be from the candidate from the Nationalist Peoples Party (NPP) rather than the BJP representation,” said Brinda.

The former police officer has a reputation that far supersedes that of her father-in-law, RK Meghen aka Sanayaima, former chairman of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), who led an armed movement against the state. She admits that her family background has been an obstacle. “People have questioned my integrity and dubbed me as an anti-national. However, I have only been working for the protection of constitutional rights and will continue to do so,” she said.

The 43-year-old is particularly popular among the youth. She shot to fame some four years back after a high-profile drug bust worth over ₹ 27 crore. She got a gallantry award, which she returned after a fallout with the CM.

When asked what she thinks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah coming down to Manipur to campaign for her opponent, Brinda said, “I take it as a compliment that the BJP’s sitting Minister needed the Union Home Minister to campaign against me. My fight is against the drug menace and corruption. As a cop, I was not able to do much for the people. I want to create an impact in the state assembly.”

Manipur will vote on February 28 and March 5. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.