Congress denies ticket to Supriya Shrinate amid row over remark against Kangana Ranaut

Congress denies ticket to Supriya Shrinate amid row over remark against Kangana Ranaut

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress dropped Supriya Shrinate as a candidate over her remarks against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut.

Shrinate had unsuccessfully contested the Maharajganj seat in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 election. She was defeated by BJP’s Pankaj Chaudhary. Instead of Shrinate, the Congress has named Virendra Chaudhary as its candidate from the seat.

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Shrinate got involved in a controversy over a now-deleted social media post on Kangana Ranaut, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mandi candidate. The Congress leader allegedly posted an offensive comment against Ranaut.  Featuring a photo of Ranaut, Shrinate in her objectionable Instagram post said, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi main koi batayega? (Can someone say what is the going rate in Mandi?)”.

However, Shrinate later said, “Anyone who knows me will know I would never say that for a woman. However, a parody account that I have just discovered misusing my name is being run on Twitter (@Supriyaparody ) which started the whole mischief, and is being reported”.

The Election Commission also issued a show-cause notice to Shrinate over her post.

According to the poll panel, Shrinate’s remarks were violative of the Model Code of Conduct and its advisory to political parties to maintain dignity during electioneering.

The Commission found the comments to be “undignified and in bad taste” and has sought her response by 5pm on March 29, 2024.

Responding to the Congress leader’s remarks, Ranaut took to social media and said, “Dear Supriya ji. In the last 20 years of my career as an artist, I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii,” posted Ranaut on X, addressing the Congress spokesperson.

The Congress on March 27 released its eighth list of 14 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.