Khadoor Sahib LS seat: Amritpal’s parents refuse to support Akali Dal candidate Valtoha

Say Akali Dal should not have fielded its candidate in support of Amritpal who is contesting as an independent

The family of ‘Waris De Punjab’ chief Amritpal Singh on Monday refused to extend support to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate from Khadoor Sahib Virsa Singh Valtoha, saying the radical Sikh preacher will contest as an Independent.

Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha (centre, facing camera) interacting with the parents of radical Sikh leader Amritpal Singh at a protest site on Heritage Street near Golden Temple in Amritsar on Monday. (HT Photo)

The development comes after Valtoha met Amritpal’s father and mother at Heritage Street near Golden Temple and requested them to urge their son not to contest from the rural Sikh constituency, fearing division of Panthic votes.

“Amritpal is contesting the elections. How can we extend support to any other candidate? His candidature was announced four days ago, so, the Akali Dal should have supported him. It should have thought about the Panthic interests and division of votes,” said Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh.

Amritpal is currently lodged in Central Jail at Dibrugarh (Assam) under the National Security Act (NSA) along with nine aides. His family has been sitting on a protest, demanding shifting of NSA detainees from Assam to Punjab. “We are kicking off a campaign for Amritpal with the support of all like-minded organisations, including Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar),” said Tarsem.

“We were expecting that the Akali Dal would not field its candidate on the Panthic constituency in support of Amritpal Singh. We thought that it would not repeat the mistake of fielding a candidate against Panthic candidate Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of Jaswant Singh Khalra. The Akali Dal are contesting polls on 12 seats in Punjab and could have left one seat for a Panthic face. I appeal to Valtoha to review his decision in Panthic interests,” added Tarsem.

Later, Valtoha said: “I hope they will review their decision keeping Panthic interests in mind.” Valtoha was elected as MLA in 2007 and 2012 from the Khemkaran segment. He was defeated by Congress’ Sukhpal Singh Bhullar and AAP’s Sarwan Singh Dhun in the 2017 and 2022 assembly polls, respectively. Besides Valtoha and Amritpal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Laljit Singh Bhullar, BJP’s Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind and Kulbir Singh Zira of the Congress are in the fray from Khadoor Sahib. Jasbir Singh Dimpa of the Congress is the outgoing MP.

The Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency was created in 2008 following the delimitation of erstwhile Tarn Taran LS constituency from where Simranjit Singh Mann secured landslide victory in 1989. Mann contested the polls from Bhagalpur jail. It comprises nine assembly segments of Jandiala, Tarn Taran, Khem Karan, Patti, Khadoor Sahib, Baba Bakala, Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Zira.