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Nineteen-year-old law student Kaziah Liz Mejo from Kerala was crowned Miss Universe India 2026 at a grand finale held at Zee Studios in Jaipur on August 23.
Mejo emerged as the winner from a field of 52 national finalists, succeeding Miss Universe India 2025 Manika Vishwakarma, who passed on the crown during the finale. The Glamanand Group, which manages the Miss Universe India Organisation, announced the top five placements following the competition. Tamil Nadu's Vaishnavi Gannesh was named first runner-up and was also crowned Miss International India 2026. Anushri Satavlekar of Gujarat finished second runner-up, while Maharashtra's Tejaswini Shrivastava and Uttarakhand's Anubha Vashisth were named third and fourth runners-up, respectively. The judging panel included Bollywood actor and India's first Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen; actress and former Miss Universe India, Urvashi Rautela, Miss Universe India 2024 Rhea Singha, and environmentalist and film producer Pragya Kapoor. Former Miss India Universe and Miss Universe Runner-up, Celina Jaitly was also a part of the selection process. The contestants were evaluated on confidence, eloquence and stage presence during the competition. Following her national title, Mejo will begin preparations for the global Miss Universe competition. Mejo is set to represent the country at the 75th Miss Universe pageant, scheduled to take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November 2026. (ANI)
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