LS polls: Mandi set for high-profile contest as Kangana Ranaut aims to breach Virbhadra family's stronghold

The Mandi constituency is set to witness a highprofile contest as actor Kangana Ranaut making her foray into politics will be looking forward to wresting the seat from the Congress partyThe Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family The seat is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh the late leaders widow She wrested the seat for the Congress in the byeelection that was held following the demise of thenBJP MP Ram Swaroop SharmaRanaut was selected by the BJP in March to represent the party in the constituencyHer arrival though was preceded by an odd incident in which Supriya Shrinate the leader of the Congress made objectionable comments against her on social mediaThe BJP criticised the comments accusing the party of being antiwomen Kangana Ranaut criticised Congress questioning how people who lack respect for women could ever contribute to the nations advancementLater Shrinate clarified her statement claiming that other persons have access to her social media accounts and that the alleged post was created by someone else and is currently under investigationA few weeks later the Congress nominated Vikramaditya Singh a minister from Himachal Pradesh and the son of Virbhadra Singh as the partys candidate for the seat adding celebrity to the contestKangana Ranaut has been saying that she will work for the progress of women as well as for the infrastructural development in the constituencyMaximum work in the constituency revolves around highways and tunnels and after winning I would be working the most with Nitin Gadkari she told ANIOn the other hand Congress has been campaigning on the pitch that Kangana Ranaut doesnt have an idea about the issues on the groundCongress candidate Vikramaditya Singh hit out at the actorturnedpolitician asserting that she has no dedication or understanding of the issues of Himachal PradeshThere are 14 lakh daughters in Himachal Pradesh So many of them studied and became IAS IFS etc Some of them are into sports as well and this lady Kangana Ranaut is also one of them But when it comes to Himachal she has no connection to Himachals issues understanding or history she has no dedication or understanding about the issues Singh told ANIShe also doesnt have time does she have a roadmap If you have a roadmap to fulfil it you will have to go to the ministry meet officials and observe the situation But she says that she will go back to Mumbai after June 4 as her films are pending This is not a 9to5 job he addedRecently Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a public meeting in support of Kangana Ranaut in MandiAttacking the Congress party for its antiwomen mindset PM Modi said that Ranaut today reflects the aspirations of the nations daughtersThe way Congress has insulted Kangana Ranaut is an insult to Mandi Its an insult to Himachal and every daughter of Himachal PM Modi saidOur daughters are flying drones in farms and fighter planes Kangana Ranaut is not just BJPs candidate but she reflects the aspirations of our nations daughters showing they can succeed in any new field they enter The Congress partys insults to Kangana are insults to Mandi Himachal and every daughter of the state he addedBJP leader and candidate Kangana Ranaut also expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to work under PM Modis leadershipKangana stated When Bollywood considered me an outsider and mocked my English Then the worlds biggest party the Bharatiya Janata Party and the worlds biggest leader PM Modi chose me to serve the people of Mandi and work for their welfare They chose a Pahadi Beti for this work This fills us with pride and eminence I bow in respect before our PM Narendra Modi on behalf of all women and citizens of HimachalMandi will be one of the most closely watched seats when the voting in the seven phases of the log elections ends on June 1 Kangana Ranaut who has ventured into politics would be hoping to cause an upset while Congress would be trying to hang onto the bastionOn June 1 there will be a single phase of voting in the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh Kangra Mandi Hamirpur and ShimlaIn addition to the Lok Sabha elections bypolls will also be held in six Himachal Pradesh assembly seats on the same day These seats fell vacant after the disqualification of rebel Congress MLAsThe outcome of the byelection would have a significant impact on the future of the Sukhvinder Sukhu government in the state The partys greater number of MLAs in the state did not prevent Abhishek Manu Singhvi the Congress candidate for Rajya Sabha from losing to Harsh Mahajan the BJP candidateOn June 4 the results of the assembly polls and the Lok Sabha elections will be declaredWith Inputs from ANI