With the political arena heating up in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, all eyes are set on the impending battle between Vikramaditya Singh and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. Vikramaditya Singh, the incumbent PWD Minister in Himachal Pradesh and scion of the Bushehr Royal family, has thrown his hat into the ring, marking a significant shift in the dynamics of the electoral landscape.
The Mandi seat, a stronghold of the Singh family, has been represented by Vikramaditya’s mother, Pratibha Singh, in recent years. The Singh family’s legacy in Mandi is illustrious, with Pratibha Singh securing victories in 2004, 2013, and 2021, following in the footsteps of Late Virbhadra Singh, who held the seat on multiple occasions.
On the other end of the political spectrum stands Kangana Ranaut, a National Award-winning actress and a native of the Mandi district, fielded by the BJP. Ranaut’s entry into politics has injected a fresh wave of excitement into the electoral arena, with her vocal criticisms of Vikramaditya Singh drawing attention from both supporters and critics alike.
Ranaut’s relentless targeting of Vikramaditya Singh has been met with dignified responses from the Congress candidate, who has chosen to address her political jibes with humility while also raising pertinent questions about her absence during the 2023 calamity in the state.
The battle for the Mandi constituency promises to be fiercely contested, with the Congress pulling out all the stops to defend its turf against the formidable BJP. Despite facing a numerical disadvantage in terms of assembly seats, Vikramaditya Singh’s family legacy and his appeal among the youth demographic could prove to be decisive factors in the upcoming elections.
As Vikramaditya Singh steps into the shoes of his late father, Virbhadra Singh, he faces perhaps the toughest political challenge of his career. The Mandi Lok Sabha seat, comprising 17 assembly seats, presents a complex electoral puzzle, with the BJP holding a majority of 12 seats. However, the dynamics of the contest are far from straightforward, with factors such as Vikramaditya’s popularity and the Singh family’s enduring legacy adding layers of complexity to the equation.
As the electoral battle intensifies in Mandi, all stakeholders are bracing themselves for a showdown of epic proportions, with the fate of the constituency hanging in the balance. With the contest shaping up to be a clash of titans between Vikramaditya Singh and Kangna Ranaut, the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections in Mandi are set to be a spectacle like no other.
