5 Facts About Vikramaditya Singh, Congress Candidate Against Kangana Ranaut In Mandi

Vikramaditya Singh, the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is the Congress candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. His mother Pratibha Singh, the president of the Congress state unit, is the sitting MP from Mandi. Vikramaditya Singh will face-off against actress-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, the BJP candidate in Mandi. 

Here are a few facts about Vikramaditya Singh:

1. Vikramaditya Singh was born on October 17, 1989, to Virbhadra Singh, the six-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, and Pratibha Singh, a three-time parliamentarian from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. Vikramaditya Singh completed his schooling at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and moved to Delhi for his bachelor's from St Stephen's College. He has a master's in history. 

2. In 2013, he was elected the president of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress. He served in the position from 2013 to 2017. Vikramaditya Singh's first brush with electoral politics came in 2017 when he was elected to the Assembly from the Shimla Rural seat. 

3. Mr Singh, the scion of the erstwhile Bhushar estate, was crowned the titular king of the former princely state after the death of his father in 2021.

4. In 2022, Vikramaditya Singh was reelected to the Assembly and became the PWD minister of Himachal Pradesh. He was also handed the portfolios of Youth Services and Sports. 

5. In March 2024, the 35-year-old led a rebellion against the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in the state. Vikramaditya Singh resigned as minister and publicly accused the Congress of disrespecting his father, despite seeking votes in his name. Later, after a meeting with party observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and DK Shivakumar in Shimla, Mr Singh took back his resignation.