Shimla – In a historic milestone for Himachal Pradesh, renowned actress and four-time National Award winner Kangana Ranaut has become the fourth woman to be elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha from the state. Kangana, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is also the first non-royal woman from Himachal to achieve this distinction.
Her victory marks a significant moment as she becomes the first woman from Himachal Pradesh to win a Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. Previously, the state had sent only three women to the Lok Sabha: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur from Mandi in 1952, Chandresh Kumari from Kangra in 1984, and Pratibha Singh from Mandi in the by-elections of 2004, 2013, and 2021.
In this election, Kangana defeated Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh by a margin of 74,755 votes. Ranaut received 537,022 votes, while Singh got 462,267 votes. A total of 5,645 voters selected NOTA in Mandi. Despite the challenges, Kangana’s victory stands out, especially as the BJP had never before fielded a woman candidate from Himachal Pradesh for the Lok Sabha.
Interestingly, the trend of electing women MPs from the state has been sporadic. The Shimla and Hamirpur Lok Sabha seats have yet to elect a woman MP. The Kangra constituency has seen only one woman, Chandresh Kumari, winning in 1984, despite the Congress fielding women candidates thrice. This reflects a broader hesitancy among major parties and voters in the region to elect women representatives.
Over the years, political parties have shown varying degrees of confidence in female candidates. From 1971 to 2019, Congress nominated women candidates for the Kangra-Chamba parliamentary seat thrice, resulting in a single win. In contrast, the BJP has not fielded a woman candidate in this constituency until now.
Kangana’s victory not only breaks this trend but also brings fresh hope and presence of women’s representation in the politics of Himachal Pradesh. As she takes her seat in the Lok Sabha, Kangana Ranaut’s journey from the silver screen to the corridors of power is set to inspire many in the hilly state and beyond.
