Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been announced as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate for Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Alongside Ranaut, Dr. Rajeev Bharadwaj, a senior BJP leader, will be contesting from the Kangra constituency. This announcement was made with the release of the BJP’s fifth list of candidates on Monday, March 25.
Ranaut, known for her vocal support of the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed her gratitude, stating, “I respect the high command’s decision to contest in the Lok Sabha polls. I am deeply honored and excited to officially join the party and am eager to serve as a dedicated worker and a responsible public servant.”
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Born in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, Ranaut’s foray into politics has been long speculated. In 2022, she had openly expressed her willingness to contest from Mandi if offered a BJP ticket, citing her admiration for Narendra Modi and the pride and patriotism he has instilled in the nation since assuming office in 2014.
Reacting to her nomination from Mandi, Ranaut wrote on X that the BJP has always had her “unconditional support”. She said she would “abide by the (BJP) high command’s decision” to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
After her candidature for the Lok Sabha polls came to light, a purported old tweet of Ranaut saying that she would not want to contest from Himachal because its “population is hardly 60/70 lakhs” with “no poverty/crime” has gone viral.
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“If I get into politics, I want a state with complexities I can work on and be the Queen I am in that field also,” she had reportedly replied to a user on X in March 2021.
Ranaut has links to politics. Her great-grandfather, Sarju Singh Ranaut, was a Congress MLA, as per an Indian Express report.
Her father Amardeep Ranaut is a businessman, and her mother, Asha, retired as a Mandi schoolteacher. Although her family was traditionally a Congress supporter, they appear to have shifted their stance in recent years.