Bollywood star Manisha Koirala may have been cast in one of the most challenging roles of her career - playing ministering angel in Nepal to woo voters for next month's controversial local elections.

The actress, once the talk of Kathmandu for her reported romance with the then Australian ambassador to Nepal, has now hit headlines in the official media for a different reason.

She is campaigning for Binod Arryal, a small-time politician in Biratnagar in eastern Nepal who was expelled from his Nepali Congress party after he decided to contest for the mayor's post.

Manisha, the granddaughter of the late B.P. Koirala, the first elected prime minister of Nepal and former chief of the Nepali Congress, has flown in from Mumbai to campaign for Arryal for the Feb 8 elections.

Manisha's campaign began with a quick trip to the neighboring district of Dharan, where she attended a programme at the B.P. Koirala Health Institute.

She said the Nepali Congress, now headed by B.P.'s younger brother and opposition leader Girija Prasad Koirala, had deviated from the principle of reconciliation advocated by her grandfather.

From Dharan, her next stop was Biratnagar, the Koirala family's ancestral residence, where she visited an orphanage. Manisha handed over little packages - that could be food or medicines - to some of the 64 children living there.

Watched curiously by about 10 children and an equal number of senior citizens, she gave a brief speech on the importance of polls in a democracy. The speech was short because she struggled to speak in Nepali, a language now alien to the actress who lives in India.

Manisha's support for King Gyanendra comes at a time when her aunt and two uncles have been sent to prison for three months for opposing the king's direct rule and the election called by him.

Besides Manisha, her father Prakash Koirala, a minister in the current cabinet, is also supporting the monarch.

Manisha's poll campaign has triggered sharp opposition with student organizations affiliated to the seven opposition parties warning they would not allow her films or posters in theatres.