Lok Sabha constituency watch: Blue bloods take on Bollywood royalty at Himachals Mandi

With a fierce electoral showdown expected, the Mandi parliamentary constituency is emerging as a battleground for royalty.

Nestled in the heart of Himachal, the constituency boasts of highly contrasting landscapes ranging from lush, hot and humid valleys to towering mountains. Added to its appeal are other notable features: the tallest voting booth in the world as well as the smallest in the state in terms of number of voters, highlighting the constituency's importance on the national stage .

Spread over six districts of Mandi, Chamba, Kinnaur, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla, the Mandi parliamentary constituency is one of the largest in the country in terms of area.

Battleground of royalty

Known as the battleground of the royal family, Mandi occupies a unique place in the Indian political landscape. It is here that 34-year-old Vikramaditya Singh, scion of the Bushahr royal family and son of six-time former chief minister (CM) Virbhadra Singh, crowned king of Rampur Bushar, is pitted against Bollywood queen Kangana Ranaut.

Mandi's tryst with the blue blood began with the first elections after independence. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, daughter of King Harnam Singh and scion of the princely state of Kapurthala, was elected to Parliament in the 1952 general elections.

The 1957 elections saw a high-stakes battle between the eighth Mandi ruler and Congress candidate, Joginder Sen Bahadur, and another member of the royal family, independent Anand Chand, scion of the erstwhile Bilaspur state. The first one won the battle.

The seat was then represented by Congress leader and former ruler of the princely state of Suket, Lalit Sen, for two consecutive terms in 1962 and 1967.

In 1971, Virbhadra Singh, who later became one of the most important political figures in state politics, visited Parliament from his seat.

The first winner from Mandi who was not from a royal family was Ganga Singh of the Janata Party, who defeated Virbhadra Singh in 1977 amid an anti-Congress wave. However, Virbhadra returned to win Mandi in 1980 after the fall of the Janata Party government. The first ever election without a royal in the fray in Mandi took place in 1984, when Congress veteran Sukh Ram defeated BJP Madhukar.

However, in 1989, a royal again entered the electoral battle, this time not from the Congress, but from the BJP. Maheshwar Singh, the scion of the Kullu royal family, won the elections. Soon after, in 1991, Sukh Ram wrested the seat from Maheshwar and retained it in 1996.

Maheshwar and Pratibha Singh, the wife of Virbhadra Singh, clashed in a prestige battle in 1998, with the former emerging victorious. Maheshwar defeated Kaul Singh in the Congress when elections were held again a year later in 1999.

The 2004 election saw Pratibha Singh winning the seat for the first time, while Virbhadra returned to represent the constituency in 2009. The latter vacated his seat to become CM in 2012 and Pratibha won again in the 2004 election. by-election held shortly after in 2013.

Riding the wave of the Narendra Modi-led BJP, Ram Swaroop Sharma defeated Pratibha in the 2014 elections and retained his 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, like she had done in 2014, won the by-election after defeating BJP's war hero in Kargil, Khushal Thakur.

Oldest HP voter to exercise franchise in Mandi

Political fervor has swept the state across all ages, with the youth as well as the elderly of the state making their voices heard. Amidst this clamor stands out super centurion voter Judhya Devi, 116, who lives in Kot village located a few kilometers from BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut's ancestral house in Bhambla, falling under Sarkaghat segment.

Judhya Devi was born on January 1, 1908. Her husband, Basant Ram, died about 30 years ago after a prolonged illness. He was 87 years old. The couple have three daughters and three sons and Jhudya Devi lives with her youngest daughter Thakuri Devi, 58, who is a helper at an anganwadi.

Ancient times were different. Political leaders were principled and cared about their constituents. They maintained contact with the public, but times have changed. The region has seen progress, but political leaders are not meeting people like us, said bedridden Judhya Devi.

Asked about the possibility of her being the world's oldest voter, the modest 116-year-old said: “I don't know who the oldest living person in Himachal is, so I can't even don't start thinking about world records.

We came across the name of Judhiya Devis while checking centurion voter records and decided to check it out. Local polling staff visited her home in Kot village. We have checked the records of local officers to confirm that she is the oldest voter in Himachal, said Additional Election Commissioner Daleep Negi.

The Election Commission will provide them with facilities to vote from home once the nomination process is completed on May 7.

Tribal region shares 220 km border with China

Mandi constituency comprises the tribal and remote areas of Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Bharmour and Pangi, which still remain cut off from the larger landscape due to poor connectivity. Villages along the Chinese border, particularly in the Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur tribal areas, lack adequate roads, water supply and schools.

Majority of the population of border villages has migrated to semi-urban and urban areas for better prospects. Himachal shares a 220 km porous border with China. Of the total length of the border, 140 km falls under the Kinnaur tribal district, while Lahaul-Spiti has the remaining 80 km.

Highest polling station

Located 15,256 feet above sea level in the Lahaul-Spiti tribal district near the Chinese border, the world's highest polling station, Tashigang, reached 100% in the last two elections. Residents, however, have threatened to boycott this time as they face livelihood problems.

There are three polling stations located at an altitude of 10,000 feet above sea level, Nako in Kinnaur, Chask Bhaturi in Bharmour and Kathi in Manali.

16 Ka voters

Ka, a village also close to the Chinese border, is the country's smallest polling station and has only 16 voters. Voters will also have to travel 13 km to vote at polling stations in Almi in Bharmour and Kathi in Manali.

Elections will miss India's first independent voter

The first elector of independent India, Shyam Saran Negi, originally from Kinnaur, died at the age of 105 on November 5, 2022. Negi, who never missed an election meeting, exercised his right to votes a record 34th time in the 2022 State Assembly elections and will do so. will be missed as the state heads into its first general election since his death.

My father was the first to vote and became a celebrity over the years. We will miss him this time. The elections were like a celebration, even a celebration, for my father, and he looked forward to them. He will be missed not only by us, but by the entire Kinnaur, said his son CP Negi, adding, “Our house saw an influx of journalists before the elections.