In the impending clash slated for June 1, the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency braces for a formidable confrontation between the Congress’s provincial minister Vikramaditya Singh and the BJP’s nominee and actress Kangana Ranaut.
The inaugural public address by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is scheduled for May 2 at Purana Bazar in Karsog, a stronghold of the BJP in the Mandi district.
Vikramaditya, scion of the late Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister and ruler of Bushahr, a former princely domain, commands a significant political legacy, with his forebears clinching victory on this seat thrice. Meanwhile, Kangana rests her aspirations on the backing of the BJP and the party’s triumph in all nine assembly constituencies within this electoral domain.
Despite the BJP’s entrenched dominance, the Congress refuses to underestimate Mandi, mobilizing its full force to secure Vikramaditya’s triumph. In anticipation of tomorrow’s public address by the CM, party officials and workers have been tasked with amassing the largest possible gathering, aiming to exert psychological pressure on the BJP.
Political analysts foresee a daunting path ahead for the Congress in Mandi. Reflecting on past Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the outcomes of the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, as well as the 2017 and 2022 Assembly polls, yielded meager results for the Congress.
Although the Congress government assumed power in the state in 2022, Mandi’s electoral outcomes were less than encouraging for the party. Similarly, the party faced a setback in this constituency during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The upcoming contest will determine whether the Congress can leave its mark in Mandi.
In the preceding 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma secured victory by a staggering margin of 4,05,459 votes, amassing a total of 6,47,189 votes. Conversely, Congress’s Ashray Sharma garnered a mere 2,41,730 votes. In terms of vote share, BJP claimed 69.14 percent, while Congress settled for 28.82 percent.
The Congress faltered in the face of the ‘Modi wave’ during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. At that juncture, BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma triumphed by a margin of 39,856, securing 3,62,824 votes, while Congress’s Pratibha Singh, spouse of the late former CM Virbhadra Singh, garnered 3,22,968 votes. BJP’s vote share stood at 49.94 percent, whereas Congress garnered 44.46 percent.
The Mandi parliamentary constituency encompasses 17 assembly segments across five districts. Of these, nine assembly seats fall within Mandi district, four in Kullu district, and one each in Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba, and Shimla districts. In the last election cycle, BJP seized victory in all 17 seats, whereas in 2014, the party triumphed in 12 seats, with Congress securing only five.
An analysis of Congress’s performance reveals that in 2022, the party clinched five out of 17 seats within the Mandi parliamentary constituency. In Mandi district specifically, Congress managed to secure victory in only one assembly seat out of 10. Likewise, in the 2017 assembly elections, BJP emerged victorious in 14 out of 17 seats in Mandi, while Congress secured two seats, with one going to an independent candidate.
Political pundit Dhananjay Sharma opined that BJP has maintained a favorable position compared to Congress in the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Mandi. This impending contest between actor Kangana and youth leader Vikramaditya promises to be an intriguing spectacle.
