Kangana Ranaut is undoubtedly one of the best actors Bollywood ever had. Her acting skills have imprinted on the canvas of cinema an impressive mark since her debut with Gangster: A Love Story. But what she has stepped into this year isn’t a movie, it’s the battle of grabbing the Mandi seat in Lok Sabha 2024.
Traditions in Mandi
Mandi has been the throne of royals since the first elections after independence. It was the seat of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Raja Joginder Sen Bahadur in 1952 and 1957 respectively. It has been the seat of Virbhadra Singh aka Raja Sahib who has the record of being the longest-serving chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. In his five terms as a member of parliament, he was elected from Mandi for three times.
Mandi in today’s India
The sitting MP of Mandi is Pratibha Singh, wife of the late Virbhadra Singh and the maharani who has been given the mandate for the Mandi seat thrice. She has been very active in politics since 2004 and currently serves as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee.
Why is it tough for Kangana?
While Pratibha Singh stated two days back that she won’t contest from her seat in the upcoming elections, the Congress party seems thinking otherwise. The party cannot afford not to field its only sitting MP from the state. After the Wednesday meeting of a six-member committee in Chandigarh over finalizing the candidates and strategy for the upcoming polls, now the track of maharani has changed. In her latest statement, Pratibha Singh said that she would do what the high command decides for her.
Maharani vs ‘Queen’
The voters of Mandi can’t be wooed in a day or two. It is the territory where people have been seeing veterans and royals for ages. When it comes to royals, loyalty becomes the biggest factor in clinching votes. Also, residents of hills believe in domicile and ethnicity more than others. In this case also Pratibha Singh seems way more efficient than Kangana. Though both belong to the mountains, it’s Ms. Singh who kept connected to the territory. On the other hand, the actress left home at 15 and got back after many years. Mandi and Himachal are home to her, but a home that’s less visited like an ancestral property.
The ray of hope
What can work in favour of Kangana is her dedication towards spirituality, culture and most importantly – the Modi factor. One campaign of PM Modi can do wonders for Kangana who is queen but not maharani. Notably, the BJP won the seat both times during Narendra Modi’s leadership in 2014 and 2019. But after the demise of Ram Swaroop Sharma (BJP MP), it was again Pratibha Singh who got the throne.
She couldn’t handle…
Kangana perfectly handled the extremely derogatory remark of Supriya Shrinate and said that women of all classes deserve respect and dignity. Where she still lags a little is her political eloquence. When asked about what’s her plan for Mandi if she wins, she had to sum up her response with – Jo bhi hamare yashaswi pradhan mantri ji kahenge, hum sab waisa hi karenge. (We will do as our prime minister will say.)
She could have picked some points or issues and talked around them even if she couldn’t promise without the consent of the party.
Rebels against Revolver Rani
The eight rebels of the BJP who went against the party in the 2022 Himachal assembly elections have this time erupted against Kangana. They are the ones who after not bagging tickets from the party, contested as independent candidates to divide BJP votes on eight seats and eventually grabbed 10% to 20% of votes on the seats that would have gone to the saffron party.
Miles to go…
Kangana is a fine actor, an artist who has worked incredibly well but couldn’t maintain it as a film director. Now, what she does in her next field is yet to be sketched on canvas but if she has to come with flying colours, she needs to work extensively. The kind of effort she puts into the craft she left home for, needs to be put into another craft that has brought her back home.
