In battle between King & Queen, why lower Mandi may have upper hand

Residents believe that voters from the upper Mandi regions, which constitute Bharmour, Lahaul & Spiti, Manali, Kullu, Rampur and Kinnaur Assembly segments, are inclined towards state PWD minister and Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh. Similarly, lower Mandi, comprising Banjar, Anni, Karsog, Sundernagar, Nachan, Seraj, Darang, Jogindernagar, Mandi, Balh and Sarkaghat, is likely benefit the actor, who is making her electoral debut, residents say.

While the seat is being held by Vikramaditya’s mother and Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pratibha Singh, since 1952, the Congress won the seat 14 times of the total 20 Lok Sabha elections. In fact, of the Congress’ 14 Lok Sabha wins, the seat was retained by Virbhadra Singh’s family for six terms. While the BJP won the seat five times, Janta Dal won only once from the constituency.

While the Congress has an edge in the seat if Lok Sabha elections are considered, the Assembly constituencies under it are mostly inclined towards the BJP.

Of the 17 Assembly constituencies, Congress won in only four seats, including two in Kullu district, one each in Shimla and Kinnaur districts. The Congress managed to open its account in Mandi district wresting Dharampur Assembly seat, which falls under Hamirpur parliamentary seat, from the BJP.

Mahesh Kumar, a government employee while chatting with his friends in Balakrupi Bazaar in Mandi, says that the prospects of the BJP candidate are bright if one looks at the Assembly seats, most of which are held by the BJP. “In my opinion, Kangana will lead in lower Mandi. Upper Mandi has always remained a Congress bastion and even on May 9, when Vikramaditya filed his nomination papers, a large number of people who came to support him were from upper Mandi,” he said.

However, Dilip Kumar, 62, who owns a shop at Bhoothnath Bazaar in Mandi, differs from Mahesh.

“There is no comparison between the two candidates. People of Mandi love tradition. Even if Kangana claims to be from Mandi, she is not a local face. On the contrary, Vikramaditya is a raja and has his roots here,” said Kumar, whose shop is almost 70 years old. “Ye politics hai kuch bhi ho sakta hai (This is politics, and anything can happen). Jai Ram Thakur was nowhere in Himachal Pradesh politics. But even then, he became the CM of the state due to his sheer efforts. If Kangana hopes to win this seat solely on the PM’s name, she will be proved wrong. And if she happens to win the seat, it will surely be because of Thakur’s sincere efforts,” he added.

Rakesh Walia, a member of the BJP’s media wing in Mandi, said that Vikramaditya is scared and his campaigns are a copy of the BJP’s. “Vikramaditya is being greeted with slogans such as ‘Vikramaditya ji ko Jai Sri Ram…’ Have you seen any other Congress candidate being greeted in that manner? It is only being done in Mandi parliamentary constituency. We are not against it, but why copy our style and that too not follow it in all seats,” he asked.

Heem Singh, a supporter of Vikramaditya who had come from Seraj, which is represented by BJP’s Jai Ram Thakur, to attend his rally at Mandi’s Seri Manch after Vfiling nominations on May 9, said that “Zor to Vikramaditya Singh kaa hai..par koi pata nahi lagta..Seraj se Jai Ram Thakur ki seat hai..wahan se to Kangana lead nikal legi (The momentum is in favour of Vikramaditya but it’s hard to predict. Seraj is Jai Ram Thakur’s stronghold… but Kangana might lead from there).”

In 2014 and 2019, the Mandi parliamentary seat was won by BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma. In 2021, a by-election was held due to Sharma’s demise and the bypoll was won by Pratibha Singh. Pratibha’s victory was attributed to the sympathy wave generated in her favour after the death of her husband and six-time CM Virbhadra Singh.

The BJP won the Mandi seat for the first time in 1989. BJP leader Maheshwar Singh, who is also the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Kullu, had been an MP from Mandi thrice. Party insiders say that he was also a contender for the ticket this time but lost to Kangana.