'Stripped' adivasi girl to contest LS polls in Assam

Guwahati, Nov 18 (UNI) An adivasi girl, whose stripping incident in broad day light in the state capital last November had shocked the nation, has now decided to take the political plunge and contest the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Lakshmi Orang, resident of a nondescript village in northern Assam's Biswanath Chariali, will fight the Lok Sabha(LS) polls on an Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) ticket from Tezpur constituency.

She would be pitted against controversial Congress strongman Mani Kumar Subba if the Congress decided to re-nominate incumbent Subba after the lottery king was embroiled in an illegal citizenship case, sources informed.

Lakshmi had hit the headlines when a gang had stripped her naked and assaulted during an adivasi rally in the city on November 24 last year.

She has already joined the AUDF and the formal announcement of fielding here as a candidate was made during a public meeting at Tezpur on Sunday.

AUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal made the announcement, stating that it was a means to empower the adivasi girl who had braved the trauma of public disgrace and decided to fight for her community's cause.

Lakshmi's main agenda would be to earn Scheduled Caste status for the adivasi community of the state, besides regaining her lost pride through the ballot.

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