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Campaigning for high-stakes Tarn Taran bypoll ends
The bypoll, necessitated by the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal in June this year, is being seen as a crucial fight before 2027 assembly elections.
Political parties made last-ditch efforts to woo voters as campaigning for the high-stakes Tarn Taran assembly bypoll came to a close on Sunday. All eyes are now on November 11 when voters pick their choice.
There are 15 candidates in all, with five being seen as strong contenders, thus setting the stage for a multi-cornered fight on this panthic seat.
The bypoll, necessitated by the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal in June this year, is being seen as a crucial fight before 2027 assembly elections.
AAP looks to retain seat
The AAP, which is looking to retain the seat, has fielded a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) turncoat and three-time MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu. Sandhu had joined the party in July.
He was elected to the assembly from Tarn Taran as an Independent in 2002 and on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) tickets in 2007 and 2012. He unsuccessfully contested from the seat in 2017 and 2022. In 2022, AAP’s Sohal had won the seat by a margin of 13,000 votes.
The importance of the seat for AAP can be gauged from the fact that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and state in-charge Manish Sisodia campaigned for Sandhu. On the last day of campaigning, Mann’s wife, Gurpreet Kaur, and his mother campaigned for the AAP nominee.
SAD bets on retired school principal
The SAD, meanwhile, is betting on Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, a retired school principal who is also the wife of a Dharmi Fauji (Sikh soldier who left the barracks in protest against Operation Bluestar in June 1984). Randhawa joined the SAD after merging her Azad Group with the party in July. While other parties are linking her family to a gangster, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal sought votes for her while stating that she is the wife of a “dharmi fauji”. Both Sukhbir and his MP wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal have campaigned aggressively for Randhawa. Virsa Singh Valtoha, a former SAD MLA from Khemkaran, which also falls in Tarn Taran district, also campaigned for the SAD nominee.
Independent backed by Khadoor Sahib MP’s party
Independent candidate Mandeep Singh is contesting the bypoll with support of the NSA detainee and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led party, Waris Punjab De, and other Panthic groups. Mandeep is the brother of Sandeep Singh Sunny, an accused in the murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri. Sunny is currently lodged in the Sangrur jail and had hit the headlines recently for assaulting former police officers, convicted in fake encounter cases in Patiala jail. Apart from other Panthic groups, former minister and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, who has remained an MLA from neighbouring Patti for a long time, is strongly supporting Mandeep. Kairon was expelled from the SAD and later joined the party’s breakaway faction.
BJP leaves no stone unturned to wrest seat
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has picked its Tarn Taran district unit president Harjit Singh Sandhu for the election. Prior to joining the BJP in 2022, Sandhu was with the SAD and has lost this seat twice in the past. Despite having limited base in this Sikh-dominated seat, the BJP has left no stone unturned to wrest this seat and roped in many senior party leaders, including Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, to campaign for its candidate.
Congress in a tight spot
The Congress has fielded its Tarn Taran district unit committee chief Karanbir Singh Burj from the seat. An agriculturalist and a real estate businessman, Burj will be contesting elections for the first time. Several party leaders, including Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, campaigned for Burj. Warring targeted the AAP government over many issues, including law and order, and drugs, and alleged that it failed to check gangsters in the state. He, however, faced flak from rival parties over his alleged casteist remarks against former Union minister Buta Singh, which enraged the Majhabi Sikh community, putting the party in a tight spot.
Controversies galore
The election has been marred by controversies. Opposition parties, particularly SAD, have accused the ruling AAP of misusing police and government machinery. The Election Commission on Saturday suspended Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ravjot Kaur Grewal after the SAD alleged that its workers were detained during the campaign period and that its candidate and her family members were being harassed by the cop.
