New Delhi: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has become the first woman with no royal roots to get elected to the Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, and is only the fourth woman ever to represent the state in the Lok Sabha. Running as a BJP candidate, Kangana defeated Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh, the scion of Rampur state and the state Public Works Minister, by a margin of 74,755 votes from the Mandi constituency.
In 1952, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, the first health minister of India and a member of the royal family of Kapurthala, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi. Chandresh Kumari, from the royal family of Jodhpur and married in Himachal, won the Kangra seat in 1984. State Congress chief Pratibha Singh, from the royal family of Rampur, won the Mandi seat in 2004, 2013, and 2021.
Historically, candidates from families that led erstwhile princely states have won Mandi 13 times. However, this time, voters have chosen Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut, a National Award-winner known for films like 'Queen'. She is the first celebrity to contest and win elections in the state. Among the three women who ran for Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh this year, Kangana was the only winner.
According to the state election commission, the voter turnout among women surpassed that of men in three out of the four parliamentary constituencies in Himachal Pradesh: Kangra, Mandi, and Hamirpur.
The BJP has won all four Lok Sabha seats, including Shimla. The total number of voters in the state is estimated at 57,11,969 — 29,13,075 males, 27,98,859 females, and 35 third-gender voters. The election was held on June 1 and results were declared on June 4.
Making Inroads In The Hill State
Besides Kangana Ranaut of the BJP, the other women candidates in the Himachal Pradesh Lok Sabha elections included Rakhee Gupta (Independent) from the Mandi constituency and Rekha Chaudhary (BSP) from the Kangra seat.
In the Mandi constituency, 5,03,173 women voted compared to 4,94,657 men. In the Hamirpur constituency, women had a turnout of 5,38,886, compared to 4,86,338 among men.
In Kangra, 5,31,434 women voted, while the number was 4,88,589 for men, according to the state election commisison.