LS counting: Kangana Ranaut leads in Mandi says “someone else will have to pack their bags and leave”

Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 4 (ANI): Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut, the Bhartiya Janata Party candidate from Himachal Pradesh estimated to be leading from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh as per trends by Election Commission on Tuesday took a jibe at rival Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh whom she said might have to “pack up his bags and leave.”

The actor’s remarks were directed at allegations that she will pack up and return after the elections to Mumbai leaving Mandi behind.

Kangana was seen to be leading from the seat by a margin of 42,851 votes, according to the latest Election Commission of India.

As per ECI, Kangana Ranaut garnered 3,34,447 votes after about two hours of the start of counting of votes at 8 am with Vikramaditya Singh was trailing behind with 2,91,596 votes.

Speaking with ANI, Kangana said, “They will have to suffer the consequences of talking so low about a woman… And that is becoming clear today with the way we have got the lead. Mandi has not taken kindly to the insults for daughters.”

She further said, “As far as my departure to Mumbai is concerned, this (Himachal Pradesh) is my ‘janmabhoomi’ and I will continue to serve people here. I have always said that I will work as a soldier in PM Narendra Modi’s goal of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas.’ So, I am not going anywhere. Perhaps, someone else will have to pack their bags and leave. I am not going anywhere.”

The actor offered prayers at her residence and took to her official X handle to posted pictures with her mother and said. “Mother is the form of God, today my mother is feeding me curd and sugar,” she wrote.

The Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress, as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family. The seat is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh, the late leader’s widow. She wrested the seat for the Congress in the bye-election that was held following the demise of then-BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.

Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with postal ballot papers amid tight security. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of by-polls in 25 Assembly constituencies also began.

Strict security has been put in place for the smooth counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general election. With counting began for the Lok Sabha elections, which have seen the largest voter participation, the electoral fate of several leaders across the political spectrum will be decided.

Two exit polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Congress party and its allies dismissed the exit polls as “orchestrated” and a work of “fantasy”, asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre.

In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition’s UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52.