Tarn Taran bypoll: Rival Akali factions vie for Panthic votes as result likely to set tone for 2027 contest

The outcome of the Tarn Taran electoral battle is being seen as a crucial fight to determine how truly the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led by Sukhbir Singh Badal or its rival factions are representatives of the Panthic ideology ahead of the 2027 state Assembly polls.

The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June this year and AAP looks to retain the seat.

The results will hardly make a difference for the SAD, which has a miniscule presence in the Vidhan Sabha, yet it will be interesting to see the contest between the SAD and the ‘anti-Badal factions’ as both sides are bent on proving that they outscore each other on Panthic parameters.

The SAD had fielded Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa while banking on her family legacy as part of the ‘Dharmi Faujis’, the Sikh soldiers who had deserted the Army during the 1984 Operation Blue Star. Sukhbir and his MP wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal have campaigned aggressively for her.

To counter SAD’s emotional religious momentum, its rival Akali groups, including the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), joined hands to back the rival factions’ candidate Mandeep Singh, the elder brother of Sandeep Singh alias Sunny, now lodged in a Patiala jail.

Sunny emerged as a Panthic symbolic figure after he allegedly assaulted a former police officer, convicted of fake encounters in the jail. The former cop later succumbed to his injuries. Sunny was already facing trial in the killing of Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri.

Political analyst Kuldip Singh says the bypoll would be an indicator of the political situation ahead.

“At the Panthic turf of Tarn Taran, I believe a parallel’ religio-political contest was also between the SAD and anti-Badal Akali factions as both had fielded candidates having Panthic tinge. If the anti-Badal candidate remains far behind in the bypoll, then it would signify that the division of Panthic votes, which led to the victory of Amritpal Singh as MP Khadoor Sahib, has settled in favour of the SAD (Badal). This would have its impact on the 2027 Assembly elections,” he said.

Tarn Taran that falls under the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency currently represented by Amritpal Singh, the jailed head of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De).

Amritpal floated his outfit as a rival to the Badal-led SAD, which secured just three seats in the 2022 Assembly elections and just one in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. Amritpal won the Khadoor Sahib seat in 2024 by nearly 2 lakh votes and Tarn Taran continues to reflect the Panthic consolidation behind his victory.