Congress candidate from Mandi Vikramaditya Singh accused the BJP of politicising religion and claimed that former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was engaging in regionalism out of fear of Kangana’s potential defeat.

He promised on Sunday that if elected as an MP, he would advocate for increasing the import duty on apples to support local horticulturists.

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Singh also emphasised the importance of building a cold storage facility for fruit growers in Kullu and establishing a plant for processing apples and other fruit juices.

Singh stressed the need for local employment opportunities for the youth, highlighting this as a key aspect of his vision for the Mandi parliamentary constituency.

While addressing election meetings in Bhutti, Vanogi Deori, Raila, Pukhri, Talada, and Jivi in the Kullu district, Singh contrasted his development-focused vision with BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut’s campaign, which, he claimed, relied heavily on invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.

“Politics is not a profession but a noble medium for public service. To serve effectively, one must live among the people, understand their problems, and preserve our ‘Dev’ culture,” Singh stated.

Responding to Kangana’s criticism that only one family wanted to cling to power, Singh pointed out that the public had elected the late Virbhadra Singh as the Chief Minister six times and MP Pratibha Singh from Mandi three times.

He argued that such statements insult the sentiments of the state’s 70 lakh people.

Singh also condemned the BJP candidate for showing disrespect towards senior BJP leaders and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by implying that development in India began only after 2014.

“Claiming that the country gained independence in 2014 is a grave insult to our freedom fighters, which cannot be tolerated,” he said.

Earlier, during an address at Simsa Panchayat in Manali on Friday, Singh appealed for votes while criticising Kangana Ranaut for making life difficult for her neighbours after building her house in Simsa.

“People’s freedom has been curbed, and Kangana has filed police cases against locals. Her behaviour is dictatorial and unfortunate,” Singh remarked.