Kangana Ranaut’s Star Trappings Lend A Sartorial Twist To Mandi Battle Tales

Kangana Ranaut may have jumped on the political bandwagon with her much talked-about nomination as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the prestigious Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections, but she is yet to shed the tag of a glamorous Bollywood star.

The BJP announced her candidature only about a month ago, but the way she was seen in traditional Himachali attire with local leaders last year made it clear that she was only gearing up to enter electoral politics in her home state with much fanfare.

Ranaut, who has been known for her no-nonsense demeanour in the Hindi film industry, seems to have stormed into the Himachal Pradesh election scene with a similar image after grabbing the attention of voters with her appearances in eye-catching outfits on the centre stage of politics in the state.

Ever since she addressed her first rally, the reflection of the strong characters she has played in films like Dhaakad, Manikarnika, Queen and Tejas has been clearly visible on various political platforms. Her roar like a lioness and her choice of words for the opposition in general and her rival Congress candidate in particular have astonished the people of Devbhoomi (the land of gods), to say the least.

Undoubtedly, her style of drawing crowds in different parts of the Mandi constituency is unusual, at least in Himachal Pradesh. Wherever she campaigns, she wears the traditional costumes of the place to connect emotionally with the voters. 

Even for her party workers, seeing such a high-profile candidate on her campaign trail accompanied by her entourage, which includes make-up artists and dress designers, is something new. Her security staff and several members of her Bollywood fraternity, including film directors, are also part of her team. This has prompted her political opponents to ridicule her "filmy" campaign.

Congress candidate for the Mandi seat, Vikramaditya Singh, has sharply attacked Ranaut, known for her domineering temperament. He says this election is not the ‘shooting of a Bollywood film’. “I will become your fan if you ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide the pension fund of Rs 9,000 crore to the state,” he said, apparently referring to Ranaut’s repeated mention of the Prime Minister’s name in her speeches instead of local issues. 

Out of the 17 assembly seats in Mandi constituency, three are tribal seats – Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi and Kinnaur - a traditional stronghold of the Congress and the local royal family in particular. 

Soon after Ranaut got the BJP ticket in Mandi, several pictures of her in glamorous outfits, even from her modeling days, surfaced and went viral on social media. To counter this, she wore a traditional tribal dress from Pangi. When she travelled to Kinnaur to deliver a speech, she was again dressed in the local attire. Similarly, she was seen wearing suits and sarees in Mandi and traditional Dhatu and Rejta dresses in Rampur. 

Incidentally, Rampur was the bastion of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Singh’s father late Virbhadra Singh. The son is fighting the polls to continue his father’s legacy.

Singh is now referred to as the son and king of the state of Rampur Bushahr, where Ranaut appears to be using her sartorial sense as a shield against her opponent. 

During the election campaign, Ranaut has undoubtedly emerged as the brand ambassador of traditional Himachali attire, but this has also earned her sharp criticism from her opponents, who have accused her of turning her campaign into a kind of ‘political shooting’. 

As Ranaut is accompanied by a huge team on her campaign trail, a large number of rooms are booked for its members. However, sources say that providing accommodation for such a large team has become a compulsion for the BJP. Many, however, claim in hushed tones that the people accompanying her are not paid employees but volunteers of the party.

She, however, seems to care little about such criticism. In almost all her speeches, she bluntly attacks the Congress party. At a recent rally, she took a dig at the party, saying the ‘elder Pappu’ and the ‘younger Pappu’ of the Congress are ignoramuses. Interestingly, she refers to Singh as Shahzada (prince) while she herself is labelled as a political actor.

She does not even spare her own party at times. Speaking at a rally in Mandi recently, she said that the BJP had narrowly lost the last election here due to its own mistakes. Her remarks took everyone by surprise as former BJP Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was sitting on the stage at the time. 

It is worth mentioning that Himachal is a very peaceful state and people in the state are considered very polite. People or leaders generally speak in a civilised manner at public forums. The Congress leader late Virbhadra Singh, a six-time Chief Minister, won the hearts of the people mainly because of his gentle nature. Former BJP Chief Minister, Jairam Thakur, too is known among the public, especially the poor, for his affectionate, polite and calm demeanour. One has also never heard of the incumbent Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, or previous chief ministers like Shanta Kumar or Prem Kumar Dhumal using inappropriate language in public. But this election is witnessing a war of words which is hurting the dignity of Devbhoomi.

As a result, the public perception of Ranaut as the ‘queen' of Himachal is somewhat diluted and her new avatar as a political firebrand has come to the fore. But the responsibility for her victory in Mandi still lies with her party leaders and workers, not with her. That is why former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur visited her house as soon as her candidature was annouced. Since then, Thakur and most of the BJP MLAs from Mandi have been working assiduously for her victory. The rumour is that the party high command will not take it lightly if the public verdict is not in her favour. 

On the other side of the battlefield, Singh has chosen to draw strength from the good work done by his parents, Pratibha Singh and Virbhadra Singh, in Mandi over the last four decades. His attitude stems mainly from the rich legacy he has inherited from his parents. 

Whoever wins this election, the fierce competition between Ranaut and Singh in the election campaign is directly related to the reputation of Narendra Modi, Jairam Thakur, and the local royal family. With such high profile personalities, the election campaign in Mandi, which votes on June 1, the last phase of the ongoing general elections, is set to intensify in the coming weeks.

(The author is a senior political commentator based in Shimla)