India polls: Kangana Ranaut wins by 74,000 votes

Actor-politician and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat with 74,755 votes against her Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh. Earlier in the day, Ranaut told reporters that she was very emotional about the outcome in Mandi, and added that her "motherland" had called her back.

As per the latest Election Commission data, the Bollywood actor-turned-politician received 5,37,022 votes, while Vikramaditya Singh, son of the late six-time Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh, trailed with 4,62,267 ballots, the poll body revealed.

Addressing a media briefing in Mandi, Ranaut said the elections were fought in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and "it is the result of his credibility and his guarantee and the faith of people in him that we are going to form the government for the third time" at the Centre.

"I am very emotional. My motherland has called me back. Now I am the MP of Mandi... Nobody will dare to ask 'Mandi ke bhav'," she added.

Calling her a "rockstar", Bollywood actor Anupam Kher congratulated Kangana Ranaut on the outcome, saying that her "journey is so, so inspirational".

The India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll 2024 had predicted that the actor-turned-politician was most likely to win her debut election from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

Mandi is one of the four parliamentary constituencies in the hill state, and has been represented by both the BJP and the Congress.

Source: India Today