A tale of two Amritpals in Khadoor Sahib

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh’s namesake, a farmer from Moga, who claims to be an Aam Aadmi Party leader, has filed papers as an Independent from Khadoor Sahib. AAP MLA from Nihal Singh Wala, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, says the namesake was an AAP member but had quit the party two days ago.

While Waris Punjab De chief and NSA detainee Amritpal Singh’s candidature from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency raised several eyebrows, it seems his namesake, who has also filed nomination from the same seat, is grabbing quite a lot of eyeballs on social media.

Some supporters of the separatist leader have termed the development a “conspiracy” to confuse voters.

The person in question is Amritpal Singh, 47, a farmer of Dina village of Nihal Singh Wala district of Moga, who claims to be an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader. He has filed papers as an Independent. Not just does he share the NSA detainee’s name, the passport size photograph pasted on his election affidavit also bears a startling resemblance to the NSA detainee’s get-up, thanks to the former’s style of tying his orange turban. His Facebook page states that he is a “spokesperson of the AAP in Nihal Singh Wala constituency”

When contacted, AAP MLA from Nihal Singh Wala, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, confirmed that Amritpal of Dina village was a member of their party but had quit the party two days ago.

Amritpal’s nomination papers accepted

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday accepted nomination papers of the Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief, ending all apprehensions of his supporters that his papers may get rejected. Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), which had pledged support to the Waris Punjab De chief, also fielded its candidate “as a back-up in case Amritpal’s candidature gets rejected.” SAD (A) leader Harpal Singh Balehar said the party candidate will withdraw papers on Thursday.