TNR Desk
Bollywood actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut found herself in an awkward situation during an election rally in Mandi, the constituency in Himachal Pradesh she is contesting, as she inadvertently targeted her own BJP colleague instead of the intended opposition leader due to a similarity in names.
Kangana, known for her outspoken nature, had set out to criticise Tejashwi Yadav, a leader of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), but she mistakenly attacked Tejasvi Surya, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bengaluru South constituency in Karnataka.
During the rally, Kangana exclaimed, “There’s a party of spoilt princes… whether it’s Rahul Gandhi who wants to grow potatoes on the moon, or Tejasvi Surya who does hooliganism and eats fish.” However, her statement was aimed at Tejashwi Yadav, referencing a recent controversy involving a video of him eating fish, which became a point of contention between the BJP and the opposition.
Tejashwi Yadav responded to the mix-up with a quizzical post on social media, asking, “Ye mohtarma kaun hai?” (Who is this lady?). The incident highlighted the repercussions of Ranaut’s verbal misfire, causing an unexpected stir within her own party ranks.
Kangana, who has been vocal in her criticism of the Congress since being fielded as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi, has often targeted Congress leaders Vikramaditya Singh and Rahul Gandhi. During a recent rally in the Sundernagar area of Mandi parliamentary constituency, she took aim at them over dynasty politics, accusing them of focusing on impractical promises rather than practical development.
In response, the Congress fired back, urging Kangana to verify her facts about her party leaders before criticizing others for dynastic politics. Amrit Kaur, the national media coordinator for the Congress, questioned Kangana’s qualifications for receiving the BJP ticket from Mandi, igniting a war of words between the two political camps. The Mandi constituency is set to go to the polls on June 1 in the seventh and last phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.