E-Paper
Tarn Taran bypoll: Six more nominations filed on 5th day
Harjit Singh Sandhu (BJP), Harmeet Singh Sandhu (AAP), Rajesh Walia (covering candidate of AAP), and Sham Lal Gandhi (Sacho Sach Party) were among those who filed their nomination papers
A total of six nomination papers were submitted on Friday, the fifth day of filing nominations for the bypoll to the Tarn Taran assembly constituency.
A spokesperson of the Punjab chief electoral officer said Harjit Singh Sandhu (BJP), Harmeet Singh Sandhu (AAP), Rajesh Walia (covering candidate of AAP), and Sham Lal Gandhi (Sacho Sach Party) were among those who filed their nomination papers.
Congress candidate Karanbir Singh also submitted another nomination paper on Friday. Earlier, he had filed his nomination papers on October 15. The last date for filing nominations is October 21, while the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 22. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 24.
The bypoll has been necessitated by the death of ruling party’s MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June. The voting will be held on November 11, and the counting of votes will be conducted on November 14.
Before AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu filed his nomination papers, the party held a roadshow led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann and senior party leaders, including AAP’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia and state party president Aman Arora.
A three-time MLA, Sandhu had first won from the Tarn Taran seat in 2002 as an independent candidate, then again in 2007 and 2012 as a Shiromani Akali Dal candidate. He, however, lost in 2017 and 2022, defeated by AAP’s Kashmir Singh Sohal by over 13,000 votes.
Sandhu switched to the AAP in July 2025 and was soon appointed as the halqa in-charge for Tarn Taran.
Mann sought votes for Sandhu, saying the AAP believed in development-oriented politics. “We never seek votes in the name of religion, hatred and dividing society. We talk about setting up good schools and hospitals,” the chief minister said.
Targeting previous Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) governments, Mann accused them of looting the state.
Highlighting his government’s achievements, he said 55,000 government jobs had been provided so far and that 90% households in Punjab were getting zero electricity bills.
On the recent floods, Mann said his government will compensate affected farmers with ₹20,000 per acre, the highest in the country. “We will put the lives of flood-affected people back on track,” he said. (With agency inputs)
