Sparks fly in Mandi in close fight between ‘Queen’ Kangana, ‘shehzada’ Vikramaditya

In terms of area, Mandi is the largest constituency in Himachal, covering Mandi, Kullu and Chamba districts, apart from the remote Lahaul and Spiti. BJP workers accompanying the actor-turned-politician, who is making her debut, say that Ranaut has visited all the 17 Assembly segments at least once so far. Voting is still more than a fortnight away, on June 1.

Wearing the now-ubiquitous Himachali cap, Ranaut greets the gathering with a “Jai Shri Ram”, acknowledges the cheers, and draws a laugh when
she begins with: “I know all of you are bored, listening to the others before me… Ab aapki mujhe sunane ki baari hai (Now, it is your turn to listen to me).”

BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut with former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and state President Rajiv Binadal during her nomination filing roadshow for Lok Sabha polls , in Mandi, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (PTI Photo)

The BJP is listening closely too, for any gaffes similar to the one in the first week of May when, seeking to attack RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav over a fish-eating row, Ranaut had taken a swipe at Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya instead, apparently confusing the two. The Opposition had a field day over it.

A few days later, the BJP’s Mandi candidate called the Congress a “remnant” of the British, and Pandit Motilal Nehru their “ansh (piece)”, which left even senior party leaders squirming. The belligerent actor-leader has also called former Congress president Sonia Gandhi “Italian patni (wife)”, and rival Vikramaditya “chotta Pappu”. The Congress has lodged a complaint against her with election officials.

Vocal on pet BJP issues even before the party took her in and straightaway gave her the Lok Sabha ticket, Ranaut goes on to talk at
the Bashing meeting about the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of Ram Mandir, while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Then, she mimics Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, exaggerating his famous hug of Modi in Parliament, followed by a wink. The audience is in splits.

Mandi Lok Sabha seat

Ranaut talks about “women’s integrity” and attacks Vikramaditya, using the expression “shehzada (prince)” for the Mandi royal family scion, the same as the BJP uses for Rahul. “He (Vikramaditya) calls me apavitra (unclean). Kya ek mahila hee apavitra ho sakti hai? Ek aadmi apavitra nahin ho sakta (I want to ask, can only a woman be unclean? Can’t a man be)? Yes, I work in films… so what? There are men who work there as well.”

She attacks Vikramaditya for saying she doesn’t step out of her house without makeup, and that “if anyone sees me without makeup, they will run away out of fear”. “I am covering 300 km every day by road… Will any makeup artist come here?” she asks the audience.

The BJP leader talks about development, and about being “a daughter of Himachal Pradesh”. “I have a house in Manali… The constituency, the
whole of Himachal, needs development badly… roads, air connectivity, education…”

Mohan Lal Thakur, a BJP worker in Bashing, says Ranaut’s aggression is what the party needs. “No one can scare her. She is hurt over the baseless claims being made just because she is an actress,” Thakur says.

Vikramaditya, who holds the PWD portfolio in the Congress Himachal government, but almost resigned in the rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has been courting a pro-Hindutva, pro-Ram Temple image too.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during nomination filing rally of Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, in Mandi, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (PTI Photo)

He says he raised issues such as purity because “Ranaut herself advocated the consumption of beef once”. “I only reminded her of our tradition of shuddhikaran (purification).”

The Congress candidate also accuses Ranaut of “making everything woman-centric, which is not right” or “Modi-centric”. “Remember, I am
a staunch devotee of Lord Ram and a proud Hindu… I attended the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.”

As for the Mandi seat, he adds, “What is Ranaut’s vision?”

While there has been talk of some anger among local BJP ranks over the ticket to Ranaut, with Vikramaditya seen as a strong candidate, BJP
Manali leader Akhilesh Kapoor says she is giving the contest her all. “She attends eight to 10 programmes every day, stays overnight at houses of party workers.” Kapoor adds that even in her retinue, Ranaut has no starry airs, and has only her cousin as her personal staff.

BJP sources say the high command is closely involved in her campaign planning, and access to her is controlled.

But while the crowds have been coming to see Ranaut and crowding her for selfies, it is uncertain whether this will translate into votes. Suresh Thakur, a former sarpanch of a nearby village sitting among the audience in Bashing, tells The Indian Express: “The party has traditionally won in this upper belt of Himachal. While the BJP has managed to penetrate, it lacks the influence that the Congress has.”

But Mahesh Kumar, sitting with his friends in Balakrupi bazar in Mandi, differs. “Ranaut’s prospects are bright if you consider the Assembly results,” he says.

Dilip Kumar, 62, who runs a shop at Bhoot Nath market, says “anything can happen”. “The people of Mandi love tradition. Ranaut is not a local face, Vikramaditya has his roots here.”

Heem Singh, who came all the way from Seraj, approximately 85 km away, to attend Vikramaditya’s rally in Mandi after he filed his nomination
on May 9, also says “the results are hard to predict”. “Zor toh Vikramaditya ka hai (The mood is in the favour of Vikramaditya).”

The BJP won Mandi for the first time in 1989, when its candidate was Maheshwar Singh, the scion of the royal family of Kullu. After a long gap, when the constituency was held by Vikramaditya’s family, Mandi was won by the BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma in 2014 and 2019. But in the 2021 by-election held after Sharma’s demise, Vikramaditya’s mother Pratibha Singh wrested the seat back.

In the 2022 Assembly elections that the Congress won, of the 17 Assembly segments in the Mandi seat, 12 were won by the BJP. The Congress won five, including Kullu.

On Tuesday, as she filed her nomination papers, around the same time as PM Modi was doing so in Varanasi, Ranaut mentioned the fact that
Mandi was known as “Chhoti Kashi (Little Varanasi)” for its temples. But there the comparison ended, she implied. “Modi ji din mein ek baar
khana khate hain, teen ghante sotey hain. Main unki sena mein ek gilahri hoon (Modi ji eats once a day, sleeps only three hours. I am but a squirrel in his army).”

As Ramayana mythology goes, a squirrel helped Lord Ram build the bridge to Lanka.