Mandi constituency will witness a high-profile contest as actress Kangana Ranaut, who is making her foray into politics, will hope to wrest the seat from the Congress Party.
The Mandi constituency has symbolic significance for the Congress as it is considered a stronghold of the Virbhadra family. The post is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh, the widow of the late leader. She won the Congress seat in the by-elections held after the demise of then BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.
Ranaut was selected by the BJP in March to represent the party in the constituency.
However, her arrival was preceded by a bizarre incident in which Congress leader Supriya Shrinate made “objectionable” comments against her on social media.
The BJP criticized the comments and accused the party of being “anti-women”. Kangana Ranaut criticized the Congress and questioned how people who lack respect for women could ever contribute to the advancement of the nation.
Shrinate later clarified his statement, stating that other people have access to his social media accounts and that the alleged post was created by someone else and is currently under investigation.
A few weeks later, the Congress nominated Vikramaditya Singh, a Himachal Pradesh minister and son of Virbhadra Singh, as the party’s candidate for the seat, adding celebrity to the contest.
Kangana Ranaut has said that she will work for the advancement of women as well as infrastructure development in the constituency.
“Maximum work in the constituency revolves around roads and tunnels and after winning, I would work more with Nitin Gadkari,” he told ANI.
On the other hand, the Congress has been campaigning on the grounds that Kangana Ranaut is clueless about the problems on the ground.
Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh lashed out at the actress-turned-politician, claiming that she has no dedication or understanding of the problems of Himachal Pradesh.
“There are 14 lakh daughters in Himachal Pradesh. Many of them studied and became IAS, IFS, etc. Some of them also play sports, and this lady (Kangana Ranaut) is also one of them. But when it comes to Himachal , she has no connection with the issues, understanding or history of Himachal; she has no dedication or understanding about the issues,” Singh told ANI.
“She also doesn’t have time, does she have a roadmap? If you have a roadmap, to fulfill it you will have to go to the ministry, meet officials and observe the situation. But she says she will return to Mumbai after June 4 because her movies are pending. This is not a 9 to 5 job,” he added.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a public meeting in support of Kangana Ranaut at Mandi.
Attacking the Congress Party for its “anti-women” mentality, Prime Minister Modi said Ranaut today reflects the aspirations of the daughters of the nation.
“The way the Congress has insulted Kangana Ranaut is an insult to Mandi. It is an insult to Himachal and all the daughters of Himachal,” PM Modi said.
“Our daughters fly drones on farms and fighter planes. Kangana Ranaut is not just the BJP candidate, she reflects the aspirations of our nation’s daughters, proving that they can succeed in any new field they enter. The insults of the Congress Party to Kangana are insults to Mandi, Himachal and all the daughters of the state,” he added.
BJP leader and candidate Kangana Ranaut also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
Kangana stated, “When Bollywood considered me an outsider and mocked my English, then the world’s largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the world’s greatest leader, Prime Minister Modi, elected me to serve the people.” of Mandi and work. for your well-being. They chose a `Pahadi Beti` for this work. This fills us with pride and eminence. “I bow with respect to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of all the women and citizens of Himachal.”
Mandi will be one of the most closely watched seats when voting in the seven phases of registration elections ends on June 1. Kangana Ranaut, who has ventured into politics, would hope to cause a surprise, while the Congress would try to hang. towards the bastion.
On June 1, there will be a single phase of voting in the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh – Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur and Shimla.
Apart from the Lok Sabha elections, by-elections will also be held in six Himachal Pradesh assembly seats on the same day. These seats fell vacant after the disqualification of rebel Congress MLAs.
The outcome of the by-election would have a significant impact on the future of the Sukhvinder Sukhu government in the state. The party’s higher number of MLAs in the state did not stop Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress candidate for Rajya Sabha, from losing to Harsh Mahajan, the BJP candidate.
The results of the assembly elections and the Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4.
(With contributions from ANI)