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Lok Sabha Constituency Watch: Blue blood takes on Bollywood ‘royalty’ in Himachal’s Mandi
The constituency, spread over six districts, has the highest and smallest polling stations and shares a 220-km with China; it also boasts of the oldest voter and was home to India’s first voter
As anticipation builds for a fierce electoral showdown, the Mandi parliamentary constituency emerges as a battleground for “royalty”.
Nestled in the heart of Himachal, the constituency boasts of starkly contrasting landscapes ranging from hot and humid lush green valleys to towering mountains. Adding to its allure are other remarkable features — the world’s highest polling booth as well as the smallest in the state in terms of the number of voters — underscoring the constituency’s significance on the national stage.
Spread over six districts — Mandi, Chamba, Kinnaur, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla — the Mandi parliamentary constituency is one of the country’s largest by area.
Battlefield of ‘royals’
Dubbed the “battlefield of royals”, Mandi holds a unique place in India’s political landscape. It is here that Vikramaditya Singh, 34, the scion of the Bushahr royal family and son of six-time former chief minister (CM) Virbhadra Singh, crowned the king of Rampur Bushar, is pitted against the Bollywood “queen” Kangana Ranaut.
Mandi’s tryst with blue blood began right from the first election post-independence. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, daughter of king Harnam Singh and scion of the princely state of Kapurthala, was elected to the Parliament in the 1952 general elections.
The 1957 election saw a high-stakes battle between the eighth ruler of Mandi and Congress candidate Joginder Sen Bahadur and another “royal” in the form of independent Anand Chand, the scion of the erstwhile Bilaspur state. The former won the battle.
The seat was then represented by Congress leader and erstwhile ruler of Suket princely state, Lalit Sen, for two consecutive terms — 1962 and 1967.
In 1971, Virbhadra Singh, who later went on to become one of the tallest political figures in state politics, made his way to the Parliament from the seat.
The first winner from Mandi who was not from a “royal” background was Janata Party’s Ganga Singh, who defeated Virbhadra Singh in 1977 amid an anti-Congress wave. However, Virbhadra returned to win from Mandi in 1980 after the fall of the Janata Party government. The first-ever election with no royal in the fray from Mandi was in 1984 when Congress veteran Sukh Ram defeated BJP’s Madhukar.
However, in 1989 a “royal” again entered the poll fray, this time not from Congress, but the BJP. Maheshwar Singh, the scion of the Kullu royal family, won the election. Shortly after, in 1991, Sukh Ram snatched the seat from Maheshwar and retained it in 1996.
Maheshwar and Pratibha Singh, Virbhadra Singh’s wife, locked horns in a prestige battle in 1998, with the former emerging victorious. Maheshwar defeated Congress’ Kaul Singh when elections were held again a year later in 1999.
The 2004 election saw Pratibha Singh win from the seat for the first time, while Virbhadra returned to represent the constituency in 2009. The latter vacated the seat to become the CM in 2012 and Pratibha again won in the by-election held soon after in 2013.
Riding on the Narendra Modi-led BJP wave, Ram Swaroop Sharma defeated Pratibha in the 2014 elections and retained the seat in 2019, defeating Sukh Ram’s grandson Aashray Sharma. The seat, however, fell vacant after Sharma’s sudden death in March 2021 and Pratibha, as she had done in 2014, won the by-election after defeating BJP’s Kargil war hero Khushal Thakur.
HP’s oldest voter to exercise right to franchise in Mandi
The political fervour has swept the state across the spectrum of age, with youth as well as the state’s elderly making their voices heard. Standing out amid the clamour is super centurion voter Judhya Devi, 116, who lives in Kot village located a few kilometres from BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut’s ancestral home in Bhambla, falling under the Sarkaghat segment.
Judhya Devi was born on January 1, 1908. Her husband, Basant Ram, died around 30 years ago after a prolonged illness. He was 87. The couple has three daughters and three sons and Jhudya Devi lives with her youngest daughter Thakuri Devi, 58, who is a helper at an anganwadi.
“The older times were different. Political leaders had principles and cared for their constituents. They maintained public contact, but times have changed. The area has seen progress, but the political leaders don’t meet people like us,” Judhya Devi, who is bedridden, said.
On being asked about the possibility of her being the oldest voter globally, the unassuming 116-year-old said, “I am not aware who is the oldest living person in Himachal, so I can’t even start to think about world records.”
“We came across Judhiya Devi’s name while checking the records of centurion voters and decided to verify. The local staff on poll duty visited her house in Kot village. We have verified the records of the local officers to confirm that she is the oldest surviving voter in Himachal,” additional election commissioner Daleep Negi said.
The election commission will provide them facilities to vote from home after the nomination filing process is complete on May 7.
Tribal region shares 220-km border with China
The Mandi constituency comprises remote and tribal areas of Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Bharmour and Pangi, which still remain cut-off from the larger landscape due to poor connectivity. The villages along the China border, particularly in tribal Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, lack proper roads, water supply and schools.
The majority of the population in the border villages have migrated to the semi-urban and urban areas for better prospects. Himachal shares a 220-km porous border with China. Of the total border length, 140 km falls under the tribal Kinnaur district, while Lahaul-Spiti has the remaining 80 km.
Highest polling station
Situated 15,256 ft above sea level in the tribal Lahaul-Spiti district, close to the China border, the world’s highest polling station Tashigang has achieved 100% polling in the last two elections. Residents, however, have threatened a boycott this time as they face bread and butter issues.
There are three polling stations situated above a height of 10,000 ft above sea level, — Nako in Kinnaur, Chask Bhaturi in Bharmour and Kathi in Manali.
16 voters from Ka
Ka, a village also close to the Chinese border, makes for the smallest polling station in and has only 16 voters. Voters will also have to trek 13 km to cast their ballot at the Almi polling station in Bharmour and Kathi in Manali.
Elections will miss independent India’s first voter
Independent India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi, a native of Kinnaur, passed away at the age of 105 years on November 5, 2022. Negi who never missed a date with elections exercised his franchise a record 34th time in the 2022 state assembly elections and will be missed as the state heads towards its first general elections since his passing.
“My father was the first voter and turned into a celebrity over the years. We will miss him this time. Elections were like a celebration, a festival even, for my father and he would eagerly wait for them. Not only us, but the entire Kinnaur will miss him,” his son CP Negi said, adding, “Our house saw an influx of media persons before the elections.”
