Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha seat is poised for a fierce contest as Congress has nominated state minister Vikramaditya Singh, the nominal king of the former princely state of Bushahr, to compete against BJP candidate and actor Kangana Ranaut.
Vikramaditya Singh, son of the six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh, has a strong political lineage. Singh's father and mother each have won the seat thrice. In the 2021 Lok Sabha bypoll, Singh campaigned in support of his mother.
Kangana Ranaut, on the other hand, is banking on the support of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur, and the party's victory in all the nine assembly segments under the parliamentary constituency.
Moreover, BJP leader and Kargil war hero Khushal Thakur, who lost to Pratibha Singh by a margin of 7,490 votes in 2021, has rendered his support to Ranaut. "There are over 1 lakh ex-servicemen in this Parliament constituency," Thakur told PTI earlier.
BJP leader and titular king of Kullu Maheshwar Singh, who previously opposed Kangana Ranaut's candidature, also extended his support to her.
The contest has been marked by heated exchanges between the two candidates, with Ranaut asserting her independence and commitment to public service. "I have made my name in the film industry without the help of my father and mother... I want to join politics and serve the people," she said.
She asserted politics is an expression of service and anyone from a king to a beggar is entitled to that expression.
Vikramaditya Singh, on the other hand, her lack of knowledge about Himachal Pradesh's people. "I pray to Lord Ram to give her wisdom and hope she goes back pure from 'Dev Bhoomi' Himachal to Bollywood because she will not win the elections as she knows nothing about the people of Himachal," he said.
Singh also questioned Ranaut over her reported comments on beef consumption, with the BJP candidate asking why he was not showing any evidence of the same.
The Mandi constituency has historically favoured descendants of former princely states, electing royals in 13 out of 19 elections since 1952.
Mandi seat has previously been represented by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur of Kapurthala dynasty and Raja Joginder Sen Bahadur of the princely state of Mandi once each, Raja Lalit Sen of Suket twice, Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh thrice each and Maheshwar Singh thrice.
Three-time MP from Mandi and former Union minister Sukh Ram, two-time winner Ram Swaroop and Ganga Singh were the only exceptions.
(With PTI inputs)