India’s ‘Bandit Queen’ To Run For Parliament

A lower-caste woman both revered and reviled as India’s “Bandit Queen” said Sunday she will run for a seat in the federal parliament.

Phoolan Devi allegedly murdered 20 upper-caste men to avenge her rape and the death of her boyfriend. She spent 11 years in jail awaiting trial before being paroled in 1994.

Her life story was the basis for a 1994 film, “Bandit Queen,” which won international acclaim and was a box-office hit in India.

Devi said she would run as a Socialist Party candidate representing the city of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, the nation’s most populous state. She said she will file her nomination on Tuesday.

Mirzapur is dominated by lower caste voters and Mrs. Devi expects she has enough support there to win, The Asian Age reported.

India’s voters go to the polls in April and May to elect representatives to the 545-seat lower house.