Shimla:

The influence of BJP dissidents and former royal families in the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency may make the path difficult for Bollywood actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, who will be elected as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Candidates make debut in high-profile seats.

Former BJP state president, three-time MP and scion of the erstwhile Kullu royal family Maheshwar Singh has asked the party high command to review its decision to field Kangana Ranaut , while Bharatiya Janata Party dissidents were denied the right to vote in the 2022 parliamentary elections and fought as independents met to strategize.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former minister Ram Lal Markanda joined his supporters in quitting the party after Congress rebel Lal who voted for the party in the Union Lok Sabha elections Ravi Thakur received assembly by-polls from Lahaul and Spiti.

“I have left the BJP along with my supporters and will definitely contest the assembly elections,” he told PTI, adding that he was likely to contest from the Congress party.

Mandi Assembly seat consists of 17 assembly seats: three tribal assembly constituencies of Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti and Balmore in Chamba district, all four assembly constituencies in Kullu district – Kullu, The nine assembly constituencies of Manali, Banjal and Ani and Sunder Nagar, Bar, Mandi district are Dharang, Joginder Nagar, Nachan, Seraj, Kalsog and Sal Kaghat Assembly constituency and Rampur in Shimla district.

Out of 17 parliamentary seats, 8 seats are reserved for subordinate tribes and subordinate castes.

The Mandi Lok Sabha constituency remains largely a battleground for the erstwhile royal family, whose descendants have won 13 out of 19 elections, including two by-elections held for the seat.

As Kangana Ranaut launched his campaign with roadshows and rallies on Friday, senior BJP leader Maheshwar Singh urged the BJP high command to re-examine its deployment of the man who “has made no contribution” ” of the actor’s decision and claimed that he had been promised tickets.

Maheshwar Singh told Press Trust of India (PTI) on Saturday: “Kangana has not contributed anything to the party and the people of Mandi have raised their voices demanding a review of the decision on social media. “

“Negotiations are on with the BJP high command to review their decision,” he said, adding, “I was promised a ticket earlier”.

Maheshwar Singh’s son Hiteshwar Singh, former BJP general secretary Ram Singh and former BJP general secretary Anne M Anni MLA Kishori Lal contested the 2022 assembly elections as an independent after being denied a vote by the BJP. Assembly constituency after Kangana candidate was announced.

Congress president Pratibha Singh, the sitting MP from Mandi constituency, had earlier withdrawn from the party race, insisting that the reality was not optimistic and workers were frustrated.

However, Vikramaditya Singh, wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and mother of ex-Bushal royal family and Himachal Pradesh public sector minister, was in Kangana She changed her stance after being announced as the BJP candidate and said she “will follow the directives of the Congress high command”. Order”.

She told Press Trust of India (PTI) on Friday: “People have an affection for former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and that is why people always support our family and want people from this family Participate in this election.”

The silver lining for Kangana Ranaut is that BJP leader Khushal Thakur has backed her candidacy. Thakur, a Kargil war hero, lost to Pratibha Singh by 7,490 votes in the by-election held in November 2021.

“I support Kangana. There are more than one lakh ex-servicemen in this assembly constituency,” he told PTI on Saturday.

Kangana Ranaut, addressing the first election meeting on Friday, called herself a “daughter and sister” of the people of Mandi and claimed that she was constantly being “bullied” for being from Himachal Pradesh.

“I built a small Devi temple in the village and a house in Manali. I have been working hard and carving a niche for myself,” said Kangana Ranaut.

“It is not that I joined politics because my father or husband was the chief minister,” she said in an indirect attack on Pratibha Singh and Vikramaditya Singh, who had earlier She drew comparisons with Sunny Deol, another actor-politician in the BJP camp. He was criticized for his alleged absence from Lok Sabha constituencies.

Those elected in the past include Raj Kumai Amrit Kaur of the Kapurthala dynasty and Raja Joginder Sen Bahadur of the former Mandi princely state (both were elected once); Raja Lalit Sen of Suket represented Mandi twice, Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh ( three times each) and Raja Maheshwar Sing (three times).

Former Union ministers Sukh Ram (three times), Ram Swaroop (twice) and Ganga Singh are the only Mandarins who are not from the erstwhile royal family. Councilor Dee.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)