Actor Kangana Ranaut, known for movies like Queen and Tanu Weds Manu, has won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh on her electoral debut by a margin of 74,755 votes, according to the Election Commission of India. She defeated Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, the son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar won the Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency, overcoming a challenge from the Congress’s Mrunal Hebbalkar. As of 4 pm, Shettar held a lead of 1.60 lakh votes.Union minister Pralhad Joshi was declared elected from the Dharwad constituency by a margin of around 97,000 votes, defeating the Congress’s Vinod Asooti.The BJP has held a strong grip over these seats since the 90s. Belgaum has been a bastion for the party, with Suresh Angadi winning the seat four times in a row before his demise in 2019.The Congress was hopeful that the switch of Lingayat voters that powered the party to win five out of eight assembly seats falling in the Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency in the 2023 polls would continue for the Lok Sabha polls. However, Shettar’s victory suggests otherwise.