Stakes are high for former BJP Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur in Mandi Parliamentary constituency, where Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has been fielded.
It will be a re-test of Thakur’s hold in his home district Mandi which falls in the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, especially as BJP, which lost power in the state, won nine out of ten Assembly segments in the district in the 2022 Assembly polls under his leadership.
People voted for BJP to save Thakur’s prestige, who was the first Chief Minister from the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh from 2017-2022.
Thakur lost the Lok Sabha election to Pratibha Singh of Congress (now sitting MP) in the 2013 by-poll with a margin of 1.36 lakh votes. Since then he hasn't contested the Lok Sabha poll. In 2014, due to his reluctance, the BJP picked up Ram Swaroop Sharma on the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, who unexpectedly defeated Pratibha Singh by a margin of 39,796 votes. Swaroop won the 2019 election against Aashray Sharma of Congress by nearly 4 lakh votes in a strong Modi wave.
However, Swaroop’s demise in 2021 was followed by the Congress nominee, Pratibha Singh winning the election against BJP’s Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur when the BJP was in power and Jairam Thakur was the Chief Minister.
Mandi Parliamentary constituency is the toughest in Himachal Pradesh, and along with nine Assembly constituencies of Mandi district (only barring Dharampur which falls in Hamirpur Parliamentary seat), it includes Kullu district, Rampur Assembly segment of Shimla district and tribal Assembly constituencies–Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmour.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the scenario in the Mandi Parliamentary constituency is different as it is the first time that the party has chosen to field a popular Bollywood actress, Kangana Ranaut in Mandi. She hails from the Mandi district and has made Mandi a hot seat.
Cautiously treading, Congress also gave a ticket to its best bet, Vikramaditya Singh, PWD minister, two-time MLA and son of former six-time Congress CM and former Union Minister, late Virbhadra Singh, in Mandi.
Vikramaditya entry– Whose mother, the Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Pratibha Singh is a sitting MP and whose father Virbhadra Singh had a personal team of old loyalists in Mandi Parliamentary constituency, which he has represented in the past, has made the battle in Mandi more interesting, especially as he is popular among the youth and is a soft-spoken politician.
Kangana is working hard in the field to build a political connection, but evidently, it’s Jai Ram Thakur, who is roughing it day and night, as the poll result is likely to impact his standing within the BJP.
Thakur, who, as Leader of Opposition, is supposed to do regular campaigning in the state, has evidently focused more on the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, coordinating with the party MLAs, holding meetings with workers, and campaigning with the candidate.
“I have the strong backing of Jai Ram Thakur, the favourite of people in Mandi. The people support him wholeheartedly,” said Kangana on the sidelines of her poll meeting in Mandi.
Thakur has so far shown that he is confident that the BJP will get the same support from the Mandi district as it got in the 2022 Assembly polls. "The Congress government has ignored Mandi district in 14 months of rule and has stalled the development projects here. People of Mandi know this very well," he said.
Yet, a big poser to BJP by the Congress in Mandi is the BJP's back out from the state government’s demand to the Centre to declare the worst natural calamity last year as a national calamity and grant a special relief package to bail out Himachal and its people from a crisis. On this, the BJP leaders have preferred to stay mum.
“Mandi Parliamentary constituency suffered badly in natural calamity last year. When affected people were in need, the state government came to their rescue and gave them the required relief. I personally went to the affected areas to take stock of the losses and help the people. Where were BJP leaders and Kangana Ranaut at that crucial time?” asked Vikramaditya Singh.
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