Apparently peeved over the BJP nominating Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut as its Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, party leader and Kullu royal family scion Maheshwar Singh has taken to sarcasm targeting the central leadership.
“The party has also conducted a survey, so it is possible that Kangana is ahead of me in the survey and I might be behind,” said Maheshwar Singh, a three-time MP from the seat.
He said there are great scholars, intellectuals and experienced people in the central leadership and they have made Kangana the candidate only after looking at everything.
Maheshwar Singh, a senior BJP leader who was a ticket aspirant from Mandi, said he would not oppose anything, and if the party asks him to campaign, he will abide by that. “It is possible that now the party does not need me and my support,” he commented.
However, Maheshwar Singh congratulated Kangana for making her debut in electoral politics after working in the Bollywood industry for decades.
Kangana Is a residents of Sarkaghat in Mandi district.
Mandi has mostly elected Congress candidates since independence, though in recent times the seat has oscillated between the grand old party and the BJP.
in the past, Congress stalwarts like Sukh Ram, Virbhadra Singh and Rani Pratibha Singh won the parliamentary polls from Mandi. For the BJP, Maheshwar Singh emerged victor in 1989, 1998 and 1999, while Ram Swaroop Sharma triumphed in 2014 and 2019. Congress’ Pratibha Singh won the by-election in 2021 after Sharma’s death.
