Himachal Pradesh: Verbal sparring between reel ‘Queen’ and royal scion escalates in Mandi, PM to reach today for poll rally

Shimla: It all started with Congress social media Chief Supriya Shrinate’s comment on social media against Bollywood “queen” Kangana Ranaut, hours after she was declared as BJP candidate from Mandi—one of the country’s toughest and largest parliamentary constituencies.

Her comments raised a storm in the political circles and got widespread condemnations.

That marked the beginning of a curious verbal confrontation between the opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh and the ruling Congress. With barely eight to 10 days left for the state to go to poll on June 1, the last phase of the polling for the 18th general elections, Mandi has become the most keenly contested hot seat in Himachal Pradesh.

Just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Mandi for his poll rally in favour of Kangana Ranaut, the celebrity candidate is already into a full-fledged feud with Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, state’s PWD minister and scion of royal family of Rampur –Bushehr, an erstwhile state.

The verbal sparring between Kangana and Vikramaditya Singh has escalated to an alarming level when personal attacks have become almost an order of the day in the gentle state. This is the first time when electioneering the state has reached the level of a “war” rather than a contest.

Known for her rebellion stance, Kananga calls Vikramaditya Singh a “shehzeda” (Prince) who is trying to woo the electorates by invoking the legacy of his father—six-time Chief Minister and “king” of Rampur Bushehr, instead of his individual identity. She also questions him on dynasty politics.

“Here I stand today, I have my own name. I earned Padmashree and four national Filmfare awards. I am an acclaimed actress and a film marker. What’s your standing except the son of the former Chief Minister” she said at her poll rally at Pangi, a landlocked area of Mandi.

Earlier she even called him “chhota pappu” and Rahul Gandhi “bada pappu”

Vikramaditya Singh also continued to question her own contributions to Himachal Pradesh when the state was facing natural calamities.

He also ridicules her eating habits (a reference to the beef eating controversy) and counters her as he is also a Hindu and Rajput—one who also attended Ram temple Pranpratitstha. “ I must tell ‘mohtarma’ (Madam), it was my father (Viirbhadra Singh) who enacted the law against conversions in the state. He gave liberal grants to temples for upkeep. Dev Sadan at Kullu is his contribution,” he says and exhorts his audience to raise slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”.

Recently her old tweet on Tibetan Spiritual leader Dalai Lama also became a cause of big protest against her at Kaza in Spiti when she reached there for campaign.

The BJP later complained to the Election Commission of India against the Congress for protest and obstruction caused to Kangana’s campaign.

Vikramaditya Singh has also questioned her on local (traditional) outfits she wears whenever she goes to different areas and makes sure that she dresses like local women.

Even her team accompanies her during the tour to take care of her appearance and speeches.

“ She (Kangana) has been brought to Mandi by Jairam Thakur (Former CM) for one month of shooting. She will go back to Mumbai once the shoot is over,” says Congress candidates even as the other day he also termed her as a character in the TV’s laughter show of Kapil Sharma. “Madam will start her own laughter show soon once she packs –up from Mandi,” Vikramaditya mocked.

Nevertheless, the constituency is poised for a tough contest. The BJP has thrown its full bright behind Kangana, who is making her new political career in her home state after making her mark in the film industry. Both have been using social media extensively in the campaign.

The seat also holds a high point for the royal family as Virbhadra Singh was elected here three times beginning in 1971 and also before he became Chief Minister in 1984. Vikramaditya Singh’s mother Pratibha Singh, who is also PCC president, also started her political career in Mandi winning the seat first time in 2004. She is a three-time MP.

Her victory was remarkable in the 2021 bypoll when the BJP was in power in the state and the election was held a few months after Virbhadra Singh’s demise.