Mandi Parliamentary Constituency, considered the largest after Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, was again wrested by the BJP from Congress. The greenhorn and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut was declared elected from the seat by a margin of 74,755 votes. Kangana, who was on the campaign trail in the most arduous assembly constituency of India, secured 537,022 votes against her nearest rival, Vikramaditya Singh of Congress, who polled 462,267 votes.
Vikramaditya Singh got a lead of 21,437 votes from Rampur, while Kangana got the highest lead of 19,402 votes from Jogindernagar. Barring four assembly constituencies, including Lahaul Spiti, Anni, Kinnaur, and Rampur, the BJP candidate secured a lead from 13 assembly constituencies. Kangana also got a lead from Manali and Kullu AC, bastions of Congress. However, Kangana could not secure a lead from Spiti Valley as she faced protests over her alleged statement against Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama. Lahaul Spiti district, which is the smallest assembly segment, not only ensured a lead for Vikramaditya Singh but also saved Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from debacle in the Assembly by-election.
The Congress could not ensure a lead for Singh in the old Congress bastion, the home turf of five-time Cabinet Minister Kaul Singh and Mandi Sadar, the home turf of former Union Minister Sukh Ram Sharma. Balh, the AC of former Minister Prakash Chaudhary, and the Sarkaghat AC of former Minister Rangila Ram Rao, which includes Kangana’s home village, secured her 13,647 votes.
Interestingly, the lead of more than 40 thousand votes of Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur from Seraj also came down to 14,698 for Kangana Ranaut. The hometown of Kangana Ranaut, the tourist resort Manali, also helped her with a lead of 1,953 votes. Despite the electoral debacle in Mandi, Vikramaditya Singh fought like a warrior, and the margin of his defeat was less compared to the other three PCs. He succeeded in taking a lead of 8,328 votes in Anni AC of Kullu district.
Political pundits say that Congress, despite failing to recapture its old bastion, made inroads into Mandi PC as BJP had a major edge with 12 ACs. The ruling party could have done better in Kinnaur and Kullu; however, due to the by-election in Lahaul Spiti, sitting MLA and Minister Jagat Singh Negi and CPS Sunder Lal could not devote more time to their own constituency, which may have resulted in a margin of around 20,000 odd votes.
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