Fresh off Mandi victory, MP Kangana Ranaut says PM Modi trumped '40 chor' of I.N.D.I.A. singlehandedly

Kangana Ranaut praised PM Modi for singlehandedly defeating I.N.D.I.A. even as BJP fails to gain majority votes.

BJP may not be looking at a landslide win this year round but actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut has quite a different take. Kangana, who fought and won the Lok Sabha elections from Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh, took to Instagram to declare a win for PM Narendra Modi. Though she did not name him directly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP candidate from Mandi constituency Kangana Ranaut during a public meeting for Lok Sabha elections, in Mandi. (PTI)

Kangana Ranaut's IG post

Sharing a cartoon about the opposition I.N.D.I.A, Kangana called them ‘40 chor (Ali Baba’s 40 thieves from the Arabic lore)' who were singlehandedly defeated by Modi. “Ek akela sab pe bhari (A lone fighter beats them all). It's a big victory considering all other parties became one. It's literally one man vs 40 chor,” Kangana wrote.

Kangana Ranaut's IG post.

Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday won the Mandi constituency of Himachal Pradesh, defeating her closest rival Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress by 74,755 votes, according to the Election Commission website. Ranaut, a first-time contender for the BJP, received 537022 votes in her first Lok Sabha election as a political leader, the website stated.

After the result announcement, the 37-year-old shared a video on her official X page in which she can be seen signing official documents. "Mandi ki sansad," Ranaut captioned her post.

Hours before, the four-time National Award winner had shared an Instagram post thanking the people from her constituency for her forthcoming victory.

"Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust... This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi," she wrote.

About Kangana Ranaut

Ranaut, who made her acting debut at the age of 17 with Anurag Basu's film Gangster, was not the only actor who sought votes from citizens; others being another newcomer Ramayan actor Arun Govil (Meerut), two-time Mathura MP Hema Malini, and TMC candidate Shatrughan Sinha from Asansol in the fray.

Ranaut -- who hails from the Mandi constituency -- was certainly the most talked about contender among them, who ran her entire campaign on being the daughter of the soil. She also gained public sympathy due to derogatory comments from opposition leaders for her acting background.

The Padma Shri recipient, a firebrand actor who had once famously called out Karan Johar as the "flagbearer of nepotism" and sparked a debate on insider versus outsider in Bollywood, is looking forward to starting a new chapter in life as a BJP MP.