Lok Sabha elections: Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib back in spotlight with Amritpal Singh’s candidature

Assembly segments in the Majha region—Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Patti, and Khadoor Sahib—are in Tarn Taran district, whereas Baba Bakala and Jandiala Assembly seats are part of Amritsar district. Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi Assemblies fall in Kapurthala district of Doaba region, and Zira of Ferozepur district connects Khadoor Sahib with Malwa.

Khadoor Sahib, which came to existence after the last delimitation exercise in 2008, has the majority of the area that was part of Tarn Taran parliament seat from where now Sangrur MP and pro-Khalistan leader Simranjit Singh Mann was elected to Lok Sabha in 1989 while he was in jail in connection with the Indira Gandhi assassination case.

The victory of Mann had paved the way for his release from jail. Amritpal Singh will also contest elections from jail as he has been detained under National Security Act.

The Panthic profile of Khadoor Sahib made Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the wife of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who was abducted and ‘forcefully disappeared’ by the Punjab Police in 1995, contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Jaswant Singh Khalra was targeted as he pursued a case against the mass cremations and illegal killings by the Punjab Police.

Though Paramjit Kaur Khalra lost the elections, she secured more than 20 per cent of the votes. Khalra was a potential candidate, and it was also the reason that former Chief of Army Staff General J J Singh had decided to withdraw his name from Khadoor Sahib, as many appealed to him to not contest against Bibi Khalra whose husband sacrificed his life for protecting human rights. General J J Singh was contesting from SAD(Taksali), a party that no longer exists, as its founder Ranjit Singh Brahmapura had later joined SAD(B).

SAD tastes defeat for first time in Panthic belt

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Khadoor Sahib was unique in the sense that it was the first time Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) tasted defeat in the Panthic belt since 1992. The division of votes between Khalra and Jagir Kaur of SAD led to the comfortable victory of Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa, the first for the party in almost four decades.

In the 2014 elections, SAD (B) candidate Ranjit Singh Brahmapura maintained more than a 9 per cent lead over Congress candidate Harminder Singh Gill.

Sources said that SAD (B) had approached Paramjit Kaur Khalra to contest this election from Khadoor Sahib seat, an offer which she declined. The names of former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia and former MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha are also doing the rounds. Besides, the party has been criticizing the AAP government for its human rights violation regarding the detention of Amritpal Singh in Assam.

Even as the Congress is yet to announce its candidate for Khadoor Sahib, sitting MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa had said that he won’t be in the race.

According to sources, businessman-turned Congress MLA from Kapurthala Gurjit Singh Rana wants the Khadoor Sahib ticket for his son Rana Inder Partap Singh, who was elected an Independent MLA from Sultanpur Lodhi in the 2022 Assembly elections. Both Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala are part of the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary seat, making the father-son duo favourites for the Congress.

Meanwhile, Bikram Singh Majithia set the rumour mill running on Thursday stating that the ruling AAP is planning to field former top police officer Gurinder Singh Dhillon in Khadoor Sahib.

He posted on X, “As per my information, former ADGP Law and Order S. Gurinder Singh Dhillon, who took voluntary retirement (VRS) will be AAP’s candidate from the Sri Khadoor Sahib Constituency. Earlier, AAP announced Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar as the candidate from the Sri Khadoor Sahib Constituency.”

The rumour gained weight as shortly after the post, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took out a rally in Khadoor Sahib on Friday, in which he hardly mentioned the name of Laljit Singh Bhullar, who is the AAP candidate in the constituency.

The CM did not shower any praise on Bhullar, which was otherwise normal during electioneering, but instead warned Bhullar while on stage against making any controversial statement. CM Mann also apologised to the public for a casteist remark that Bhullar made earlier this month.

Laljit Bhullar landed in soup over his casteist remarks against the Ramgharia and Goldsmith communities while attacking Harmandir Singh Gill, former Congress MLA from Patti whom he defeated in the 2022 Punjab election.

In the previous Lok Sabha elections, AAP suffered a blow as its candidate Manjinder Singh couldn’t save deposits in the 2019 election. Singh, however, was elected from Khadoor Sahib Assembly seat just three years later.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP secured slightly more votes collectively from all nine assembly constituencies, part of Khadoor Sahib than the sitting Congress MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa secured in the 2019 elections. SAD(B) maintained its vote share in Khadoor Sahib seat with a minor dent in the 2022 Assembly elections.

It was the Congress party which almost competed with SAD in terms of votes in 2022 elections; however, its vote share fell drastically in comparison with the 2019 results for the Khadoor Sahib seat.