Kangana’s Temple Tour: Bollywood’s Spiritual Side Revealed

Nestled in Shimla, Kangana Ranaut, a luminary of Bollywood, ventures into a new realm as she emerges as the first celebrity to vie for a Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh. Despite a certain aloofness towards the press during her campaign, Ranaut exhibits a warm reception to the common folk, engaging in impromptu dances, conversing in local vernaculars, and graciously accepting selfie requests.

Her campaign strategy revolves around intimate gatherings and vibrant roadshows, where eager constituents seek proximity to the iconic ‘Queen’ figure, hoping for a moment captured with the star. The trend of snapping selfies and group pictures with Ranaut, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s nominee for the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, marks a significant departure, as it marks the debut of a celebrity candidacy in Himachal Pradesh.

The cyberspace buzzes with footage of Ranaut, a native of Mandi, partaking in lively dances with indigenous women and engaging in the humble task of temple upkeep during her campaign. To establish an immediate rapport, she converses fluently in local dialects, proudly declaring her Mandi heritage. Renowned for her candid expressions, Ranaut has offered sporadic soundbites to the media, yet has refrained from formal Q&A sessions.

According to BJP insiders, Ranaut commences her campaign days with visits to revered local shrines, with a pronounced focus on galvanizing female voters, who constitute nearly half of the state’s electorate, along with the youth demographic. Emphasizing gender equality across all domains, she pledges to champion the cause of women alongside men. Ranaut, a vocal supporter of the BJP long before her official induction into the party and selection as the Mandi candidate, criticizes Congress figures for their perceived anti-female rhetoric and dismisses dynastic politics with disdain.

In a recent campaign rally in Manali, falling within the Mandi constituency, Ranaut indirectly targets Congress scions Rahul Gandhi and Vikramaditya Singh, dubbing them “Bada Pappu” and “Chhota Pappu” respectively. Vikramaditya Singh, the Public Works Minister of Himachal Pradesh and scion of the Rampur estate, emerges as her primary opponent in the Mandi parliamentary contest. The son of the late six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the incumbent state Congress president Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya Singh represents the quintessential establishment against Ranaut’s outsider narrative.

Employing the term “Shezada” as a rhetorical weapon against Vikramaditya Singh, Ranaut juxtaposes her grassroots journey against his dynastic lineage, asserting her independence from familial political influence. She extols Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a divine emissary, likening him to an avatar of Lord Ram and Vishnu, and pledges to serve as a conduit for the people’s grievances in the nation’s capital.

However, dissenting voices, exemplified by individuals like Mahesh, a senior resident of Sundernagar, caution against Ranaut’s acerbic rhetoric and personal attacks on rivals, fearing a backlash among the conservative electorate of Himachal Pradesh. “Such political maneuvering and disparaging remarks fail to resonate with the ethos of Dev Bhoomi Himachal,” opines Mahesh.

The Mandi parliamentary constituency encompasses a diverse array of seventeen assembly segments, including eight reserved for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. Notable among these are the tribal constituencies of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, and Bharmour in Chamba district, along with Kullu district’s quartet of Kullu, Manali, Banjar, and Anni, and Mandi district’s nine assembly seats, comprising Sundernagar, Balh, Mandi, Darang, Jogindernagar, Nachan, Seraj, Karsog, and Sarkaghat, alongside Rampur in Shimla district.