Battle Royale? Mandi’s ‘King’ & ‘Queen’ Spar For Supremacy With Jibes & Insults

Mandi: Coming out of an election gathering on a hot May afternoon in Takoli village of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, Krishna Vaidya is all smiles. "I had seen her in movies but never in real life. Today, my wish came true," says Vaidya, who is in her late 50s and a resident of a nearby village.
Vaidya is not alone.
In almost all her political gatherings and rallies, actor Kangana Ranaut, BJP's candidate from Mandi parliamentary constituency, gets immediately surrounded by fans, who come in droves, pulled by her big screen charisma.

If political greenhorn Kangana is using Modi and movie magic to win the hearts of voters in Mandi, then her bete noire and seasoned politician Vikramaditya Singh, the Congress candidate and the scion of the erstwhile Bushahr princely state, is being helped by his royal tag and bloodline.
The son of six-time late chief minister Virbhadra Singh and Congress state president Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya is contesting from a rather familiar Mandi seat, which has been represented by his parents three times each.
When the tickets were announced, it was hailed as the greatest election battle between a 'king' and a 'queen.' But it has turned out to be the ugliest political duel ever fought in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh.
The first salvo was fired by Congress when its leader Supriya Shrinate in March posted on social media a sexist post with derogatory remarks against Kangana. Thereafter, it's been a no-holds-barred slugfest.
If Kangana in her election rallies has called Vikramaditya a 'Chhota Pappu,' a 'spoiled shehzada,' 'someone who doesn't respect women,' then the latter's jibes at the Bollywood actor include a 'comedian,' 'a monsoon frog,' an 'imported leader,' etc.
Kangana hails from Bhambla village of Mandi district but Congress has been portraying her as an outsider, who did not stand with the people during the monsoon disaster last year and that she will rush back to Mumbai after elections.
Kangana has also stayed away from touching any local issues in her election meetings and speeches and is just banking on Modi's name.
But this doesn't seem to bother too many people too much at least in many constituencies that fall in Kangna's home district of Mandi, where BJP had won 9 out of the 10 seats in the 2022 assembly elections - a factor that is expected to go in her favour on the polling day.
Mandi is the largest parliamentary constituency of the state with 17 assembly constituencies that cover six of the 12 districts of the state from tribal belts of Bharmour and Lahaul-Spiti to Kullu, Manali, Mandi, Kinnaur and up to Shimla.
"Kangana is the daughter of Mandi. She is a Mandial and belongs to this place. Moreover, Modi himself wanted her to contest elections from our constituency," says Sanjay Kapoor, a shopkeeper from Mandi town.
Using local dialect Mandiali in her speeches, Kangana seems to have struck a chord with the voters in areas of Mandi district but in the upper reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur, Shimla and Chamba, it's Vikramaditya who seems to have an upper hand.
"All my life I have voted for Raja sahib (Virbhadra Singh) and later Rani sahiba and now it's their son Vikramaditya, the Tikka sahib. You see the Raja family knows and understands this place, the people and the issues so well that they deserve to be elected as our leaders," says Mahal Chand Negi, 65, a resident of Chhatenseri, a village near Manali populated by people from Kinnaur district.
Along with promises of solving the long-pending issues of the people of Mandi constituency, Vikramaditya has also been making it a point to mention his father's legacy and the Devniti, a religious code of the deities followed in the villages of the state, especially in areas of the upper Himachal, in all of his poll meetings.
"It's our responsibility to strengthen the Devniti. Rest assured, I will assist with all my support for all the religious and Devniti functions the way my father Raja Virbhadra Singh used to," Vikramaditya told a cheering crowd at an election gathering in Sundernagar in Mandi on Monday.
As June 1, the polling day in Himachal Pradesh, draws closer and the political temperature rises, both Kangana and Vikramaditya sweat it out throughout the length and breadth of Mandi constituency to win over the electorate. At stake in not only their reputations but also the shape of their future.
"No doubt both the candidates are strong and charismatic and locked in an ugly fight. But my vote is for Mandi. It's for the one who will work for us. It's a simple choice," says Neelesh Mahendru, 27, a resident of Mandi town.