AMRITSAR: After much dillydallying, incarcerated chief of Waris Punjab De (WPD) Amritpal Singh has finally decided to contest the election from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency as an independent candidate.
With Amritpal — known for his separatist ideology — now contesting elections from Khadoor Sahib, the dynamics of voting are expected to undergo a significant shift. Khadoor Sahib is a panthic constituency, deeply rooted in Sikh religious sentiments. Falling in Tarn Taran district, it has a history of being a centre of activities during the days of terrorism.
Tarsem Singh, father of Amritpal Singh, who met his son at Central Jail, Dibrugarh in Assam, on Thursday said that in light of the alleged “escalating govt-led atrocities against youth and to bolster the religious preaching movement as well as to advocate for an end to the National Security Act (NSA) imposed on Amritpal and his nine colleagues and their release and also to elevate Punjab’s issues on the international stage,” Amritpal will run as an independent candidate.
When asked why he didn’t inform about his decision on Thursday when he met him in jail, he said, “He had given us an indication so we took the decision today.”
Tarsem said, “We will reach Amritsar tomorrow and then have a meeting with the sangat to decide our campaign strategy, fulfil formalities required for elections and then begin our campaign with full thrust.”
SAD (A) leader Upkar Singh Sandhu said that during the peak of militancy, then Shiromani Akali Dal (M) president Simranjit Singh Mann, who was then in jail, contested the LS elections from the then Taran Taran Lok Sabha constituency and received an overwhelming 93.92% of the votes, while his nearest rival Ajit Singh Mann of the Congress garnered only 8.42% of the votes.
Mann secured 5,27,707 votes, while Ajit received only 47,290 votes. “History is going to be repeated. Amritpal was doing good work for the youth and community and he had immense panthic support,” said Sandhu.
Amritpal’s candidacy could polarise the electorate, with some viewing him as a symbol of Sikh rights while others see him as a potentially destabilising force. His presence in the race is likely to spark intense debate and reflection on the region’s troubled past and its aspirations for the future.
Amritpal’s mother Balwinder Kaur said Amritpal was not keen to contest, as that was also not a permanent solution for the community. “However, now we feel that the situation demands that for the time we need to change our strategy and take this path seriously,” she said.
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