In Mandi's Electoral Battle, Can The 'Queen' Topple The 'King'?

The students of Krishma Educational Centre, a B.Ed. college in Mandi, fill a hall that mirrors their careers: under construction. Asbestos sheets, window panes, and long pipes litter its far end. A Jai Shree Ram flag flutters in the backyard. The students chat, banter, laugh. 바카라�How will you clap when she comes?바카라� A female teacher asks. They applaud in a musical rhythm. She approaches a different row: 바카라�You바카라�ve to raise slogans as well.바카라� When the politician arrives, the students implement the instructions: they clap, whistle, and scream 바카라�Jai Shree Ram바카라�. In Kangana Ranaut바카라�s hometown, everyone is an actor.  

Nine days before the polls, her urgency is palpable. 바카라�How many of you바카라�ve voted before? Raise your hands.바카라� More than half of them do. 바카라�Bahut badhiya [very nice].바카라� She cautions them against complacency, as the conflict-ridden states바카라�such as 바카라�Manipur, Jharkhand, and Bengal바카라�바카라�show a high voter turnout, but the states, 바카라�happy with Modi-ji바카라�s schemes바카라�, don바카라�t. 바카라�You must phone everyone and urge them to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP]. And if they ask, 바카라�Why do you care?바카라� Say, 바카라�I work for the BJP.바카라�바카라�  

Even though Ranaut speaks in a commanding voice, she belabours the voter-turnout point in her short speech and pauses across words, as if charging her memory, while referencing the names and numbers related to welfare schemes. When the students applaud, she looks relieved. Moderating her own fire, she delivers a speech that functions as an 바카라�opening act바카라�: 바카라�Two days later, the country바카라�s biggest superstar, Narendra Modi-ji,will visit Mandi. You바카라�ve to listen to his speech at 2 pm.바카라� Ninety minutes later, standing in front of a house, Ranaut rubbishes the INDIA alliance and praises Modi. 바카라�Talking about him is like showing a lamp to the sun.바카라� She still goes on바카라�and on바카라�about his virtues. She takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi (a 바카라�cartoon character바카라�); the audience laughs. Even when she sounds confident, her speech remains generic and broad, devoid of her plans as an MP.

For the BJP, though, safe is better than embarrassing, as she바카라�s made remarkable gaffes in the recent past, from calling 바카라�Subhas Chandra Bose, the country바카라�s first prime minister바카라� to slamming her BJP colleague, Tejasvi Surya, instead of Tejashwi Yadav. But Ranaut need not shrink herself, as her own journey바카라�from an actor to a politician (minus the hate speech)바카라�has been fascinating. From conquering a film industry loaded with dynasts, she바카라�s come to a constituency ... loaded with dynasts. She바카라�s up against the Congress party바카라�s Vikramaditya Singh, the son of the six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who hails from a royal family. A 바카라�king바카라� battling a 바카라�queen바카라�.  

바카라�She바카라�s bold and dynamic,바카라� says Subhash Malhotra, a hotel owner. Ranaut바카라�s parents forbade her from entering Bollywood, so 바카라�she revolted and left for Bombay, where she made it on her own바카라�. Two decades later, in politics, she countered her family again: 바카라�Her father was a Congressi.바카라� Around 20 km away, in Darang, Narmada Thakur says, 바카라�I바카라�m proud of her. She바카라�s made Mandi and Himachal famous.바카라� Thakur calls her 바카라�sangharsh-sheel바카라� and 바카라�himmat-daar바카라�바카라�a courageous fighter바카라�who achieved a lot at a young age. 바카라�And when it comes to politics, she바카라�ll learn. It바카라�s not a big deal.바카라� Bhagat Ram agrees: 바카라�She바카라�s made Mandi proud. She achieved so much in Bombay바카라�it바카라�s not possible for a common person.바카라�  

The Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, divided into five districts, covers more than half of Himachal Pradesh. In the 2022 state elections, which brought the Congress back to power, the BJP won 13 out of 17 Vidhan Sabha seats in Mandi바카라�and all 9 in the Mandi district. 바카라�The Congress won only because of the Old Pension Scheme,바카라� says Malhotra. The party had released ten guarantees in its election manifesto. 바카라�Those were just promises,바카라� says Manoj Kumar, a cook. 바카라�It hasn바카라�t even given Rs 1,500 per month to women.바카라� Thakur calls them 바카라�election stunts바카라�. The Congress party thinks women are dumb, she adds, so we can fool them. Ram too바카라�a 바카라�lifelong Congressi바카라�바카라�sees 바카라�no output, no progress바카라� in his area. 바카라�They also assured 300 units of free electricity, buying milk and cow dung [at Rs 100 per litre and Rs 2 per kg]바카라�and so much more.바카라� Pooran Chand repeats the same complaints, so does Saurabh Dharmani: 바카라�It didn바카라�t provide employment to five lakh youth as well.바카라�

Since 1985 the Himachal Pradesh governments have swung from one party to the other in every state election. But one person seems to defy the norm. 바카라�When I met [the BJP바카라�s MP] Ram Swaroop, I couldn바카라�t even recognise him,바카라� says Malhotra. 바카라�I had only voted for Modi.바카라� Thakur: 바카라�The candidate doesn바카라�t matter. I바카라�d vote for Modi.바카라� Besar Singh, a blue-collar worker: 바카라�Whether it바카라�s Kangana or anyone else, I바카라�d choose the BJP because of Modi.바카라� Chand, an affluent farmer: 바카라�The candidate doesn바카라�t matter. I바카라�ll vote in the name of Modi.바카라�  

When asked about the Congress바카라� performance in the state, Kamalesh Kumari, a shopkeeper, replies, 바카라�I want Modi-ji.바카라� Her neighbour, a dhaba owner, Naveen Kumar Mahant, praises the current chief minister, 바카라�Sukhu bhai바카라�, but the 바카라�Modi wave바카라� will make him vote for the BJP. He laughs. His brother, Manish, says the road opposite their shop will soon become a four-lane highway. It바카라�ll decimate their family-run business flourishing for 40-odd years. The compensation, Rs 2.8 lakh, disappoints him, as the same plot of land nets Rs 20 lakh in Kullu. 바카라�[But] we바카라�ll [still] support Kangana, because of Modi-ji.바카라� What about his own loss? 바카라�There바카라�ll be benefits as well. The new four-lane will attract more tourists.바카라�  

When the people of Mandi talk about Modi바카라�whether it바카라�s in the valley or in the town, whether it바카라�s a home or a shop, whether they바카라�re young or old바카라�their mannerisms transform. Their eyes sparkle; their faces glow; their smiles broaden. They highlight not just the obvious projects바카라�such as the Atal Tunnel, the welfare schemes, the Ram Mandir바카라�but also other overlapping factors, in the same tone and tenor, as if they바카라�ve read the same syllabus, graduated from the same university. Their reasons range from foreign policy (바카라�earlier China and Pakistan used to intimidate us바카라�) to perceived transformation (바카라�what the Congress couldn바카라�t do in 70 years, the BJP has in 10바카라�) to election manifesto (바카라�he delivers what he promises: Article 370바카라�). Co-writing Modi바카라�s profile, they call him a feminist (바카라�he abolished triple talaq바카라�), honest (바카라�바카라�he neither eats nor lets anyone eat바카라�바카라�), a patriot (바카라�he바카라�s dedicated his life to the country바카라�). And of course: 바카라�He바카라�s protected Hindutva바카라�. 바카라�I don바카라�t think he바카라�s human,바카라� Thakur says. 바카라�He바카라�s a reincarnation, much in the same way Ram and Krishna were avatars of Vishnu.바카라�  

But this isn바카라�t all. When asked what Besar Singh dislikes about the Congress, he replies, 바카라�I don바카라�t know. Modi-ji is good.바카라� In the bustling Indira Market, a Sikh shopkeeper prefers the Congress over the BJP (!). 바카라�Vikramaditya has a better chance than Kangana.바카라� But many in Mandi say that the candidate is irrelevant for them, I tell him, as they바카라�d vote for Modi. 바카라�See, the country has developed under him. For example, the tunnel construction. The BJP has done good work바카라�even better than the Congress.바카라� In the same market, Narendra Singh talks about the Ram Mandir celebration in Mandi. 바카라�It looked like Diwali바카라�on that day, it felt as if the BJP would get more than 500 seats.바카라� He, too, praises Modi바카라�s honesty, saying that the Ram mandir should have been built much earlier. A white turban graces his head, but given this is Mandi, I check with him. 바카라�Is this a turban바카라�you바카라�re a sardar, right?바카라� He smiles, says yes, then adds: 바카라�Pure Sanatani and pure veg.바카라� 

No matter where you report in India, the chances are high that you바카라�ll find some diverse opinions. But Mandi made me question my senses바카라�my sanity바카라�for it felt like a town under a hypnotic spell. So descending down a trail, when I heard a voice, 바카라�The Congress is better than the BJP,바카라� I stopped. Did I get that right바카라�had I begun to hallucinate? I went back to check the first Congress supporter in the town: a 10-year-old girl wearing a charming smile. 바카라�The Congress has done some good work, such as implementing the OPS [Old Pension Scheme].바카라� Do you like Ranaut? 바카라�I do,바카라� she says, 바카라�but only as an actress, not as a BJP leader.바카라�  

As I speak to around two dozen people, I realise it바카라�s easier to find a needle in a haystack than an (adult) BJP critic in Mandi. I finally find one in Ravi Nahar in Ner Chowk. 바카라�There are no jobs. The BJP has done nothing about unemployment.바카라� Even though he바카라�s a 바카라�Congressi바카라�, he no longer 바카라�votes or supports바카라� the party. 바카라�Our kids have no stand today. They바카라�re doing chitta [cocaine].바카라� According to a December 2023 article, its consumption continues to rise in the state, year after year. 바카라�Like other politicians, Modi has just promised, done nothing.바카라�  

After a series of Modi fans, I find another (and the last) Congress supporter, Teej Ram, in Sunder Nagar, who praises the chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, for the relief work during last year바카라�s floods.Kanshi Ram Raheja, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member, agrees with him, then plays the old record: 바카라�People don바카라�t know Kangana or anyone else, they바카라�ll only vote for Modi. I바카라�m 72 years old, son. The foreigners used to call us dogs바카라�dogs. But now they salute us.My every drop of blood is for Modi.바카라�This doesn바카라�t look like a 바카라�wave바카라� but a tsunami, which drenches all except one, which Ranaut hopes to ride next week, the same tsunami reducing her to a supporting actor in her own biopic.