On Wednesday, Congress leader and Mandi candidate Vikramaditya Singh mocked actor-turned-politician and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut, comparing her to comedian Kapil Sharma. During an interview with ANI, Singh criticized Ranaut’s statements and accused her of evading tough questions.
“I asked Kangana tough questions, but she always tries to escape by alleging that we are anti-women. Her time of entertainment in Himachal Pradesh is over. She has made enough statements that people couldn’t stop laughing after hearing them,” Singh said. He added, “She is giving good competition to comedian Kapil Sharma. I think she should go back to Mumbai after June 4 and either do films or start a comedy show.”
Singh also expressed sympathy for the Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, claiming that Thakur and other BJP leaders are being sidelined due to Ranaut’s prominence. “I sympathize with Jairam Thakur. We know what is happening with BJP MLAs. Jairam Thakur is the former CM, and he deserves respect. Yesterday, Thakur’s bodyguards had to step down from the helicopter to accommodate a makeup artist. The people of Mandi are annoyed, and not only the people, but also the workers, leaders, and MLAs of the BJP are agitated,” Singh added.
Singh’s comments come amid controversy surrounding Ranaut, who recently reiterated her claim that India attained real independence with the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. This echoed her 2022 statement that India’s freedom in 1947 was a ‘bheek’ (handout), sparking widespread outrage.
During her recent visit to Kaza in Himachal’s Lahaul-Spiti district, Ranaut faced protests where people greeted her with black flags and chants of “Kangana Ranaut go back.”
The Mandi constituency holds significant importance for the Congress, being a stronghold of the Virbhadra family. Currently, Pratibha Devi Singh, widow of the late Congress leader Virbhadra Singh, holds the seat. She won it in a bye-election following the death of BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.
Himachal Pradesh will hold elections on June 1, where voters will choose Lok Sabha members from four seats and representatives for six assembly seats left vacant by the resignation and switch of dissident Congress lawmakers. The BJP, which swept all four Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2019 elections, aims to replicate its success in the upcoming polls.