Shimla:
Actor Kangana Ranaut, the first Bollywood celebrity to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Himachal Pradesh, has kept his distance from the media during the campaign but has welcomed the common voters: occasionally dancing with them, communicating in their dialects and helpful to their selfie requests.
She is so far concentrating on small gatherings and roadshows, where people first try to catch a glimpse of her up close and then possibly get clicked with the 'Queen' star.
Selfies and group photos with the actor, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, are in vogue as this is the first time a celebrity is contesting elections in Himachal Pradesh.
Videos of Ms Ranaut, who hails from Mandi, dancing with local women and impressive temple buildings during her campaign have gone viral.
To forge an instant connection, she often communicates with her potential voters in their dialects and emphasizes that she is a daughter of Mandi.
I think I did a good job. I think I did a good job
I think it's worth 400 or more pic.twitter.com/btzV2DUEkt
— Kangana Ranaut (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KanganaTeam) May 4, 2024
Known for her unfiltered comments, Ms Ranaut has given some media endorsements but has not yet offered them Q&A interaction.
BJP leaders say her typical campaign day starts with paying tribute to the temples of local deities. She is targeting women voters, who constitute about 49 percent of the state's total voters, and the youth.
She has said she would ensure women and men are “equal in all areas”.
Ms Ranaut, who often expressed pro-BJP views even before she joined the party and was expelled by Mandi, bashes Congress leaders for their alleged anti-women remarks and talks mockingly about dynastic politics.
Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, a scion of the erstwhile Rampur estate, is her challenger from the Mandi Parliament seat. He is the son of six-time chief minister late Virbhadra Singh and current state Congress president Pratibha Singh.
Ms Ranaut often uses the term 'Shezada' to attack Vikramaditya Singh and criticizes him by repeatedly claiming that unlike him, she is not in politics because of her father or mother.
She has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an 'ansh' of Lord Ram and Vishnu and claims that she would work as people's postwife and take their problems and issues to New Delhi.
But some people, like Mahesh, a senior citizen from Sundernagar, feel that Ms. Ranaut's personal attacks and snide remarks against her rivals may not go down well with voters in Himachal Pradesh even though they may get cheers from the crowd.
“Such politics and insulting comments do not resonate with the people of Dev Bhoomi Himachal,” Mahesh said.
The seat of the Mandi Parliament consists of 17 assembly seats, eight of which are reserved for the Schedule Tribe and the Schedule caste.
These seats include the three constituencies of Chamba district – Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Bharmour; All four assembly segments of Kullu district: Kullu, Manali, Banjar and Anni; The nine constituencies of Mandi district: Sundernagar, Balh, Mandi, Darang, Jogindernagar, Nachan, Seraj, Karsog and Sarkaghat; and Rampur in Shimla district.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)