Irom Sharmila is contesting from the Thoubal constituency seat held by Mr Ibobi Singh since 2006.
Irom Sharmila Chanu, the Manipur activist who ended an epic 16-year fast last year and announced that she would contest elections, has decided to challenge Chief Minister Ibobi Singh in next month's polls in the state.
The 44-year-old, attempting to send out a message for clean and transparent politics and transparent funding, says her campaign will be crowd-funded.
She is contesting from the Thoubal constituency seat held by the Chief Minister since 2006.
Sharmila and other members of her new People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party have taken to the Internet to explain crowd-funding and urge volunteers to take their campaign to voters.
The volunteers have been told to explain to voters that Sharmila's fight is not just for a change in regime but also for a complete transformation in the way elections are fought in Manipur.
"We need public funding to bring about a positive change and for this crowd funding is basic need to fulfill our goal," Irom Sharmila told NDTV in Imphal.
Her colleagues are also upbeat.
"Political funding cannot be monopolized. Particularly in a corrupt place like Manipur, our aim is to democratise politician funding," said Erendro Leichonbam, Convener of Sharmila's party.
Sharmila did not eat a morsel for 16 years in protest against an oppressive law that gives the army special powers to act against citizens in troubled areas. She was force-fed through a nasal tube, which came off last year after she called off the fast. Her big decision was received with mixed feelings in Manipur.
In August, Sharmila said she would now take the political route to achieve her goals and take on the ruling Congress.
To help crowd-fund Sharmila's campaign, her supporters have enlisted the help of Ketto, a Mumbai-based website that has helped raise more than 100 Crores for various social causes since 2012.
"The campaign is only two weeks old and we already have 65 contributors and have gathered a few lakhs, I am sure it will gain more traction soon," said Varun Seth, the CEO of Ketto.
The campaign is aimed at raising at least 50 lakhs and has even drawn the attention of opponents.
The Congress has scoffed at Sharmila's campaign.
"To root out corruption by raising money from the public in whatever way they call is not going to work out," said N Bijoy Singh, Congress spokesperson in Imphal.