Tarn Taran bypoll: AAP hopes to retain seat; Congress, BJP look to alter status quo

Punjab is set to witness a multi-cornered contest in the Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll, with the ruling AAP hoping to retain the seat and other major players -- Congress, SAD and BJP -- looking to turn a corner.

The AAP has won five of the six bypolls in Punjab since it came to power in March 2022. The Tarn Taran seat was previously held by its late MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal.

The AAP has fielded turncoat Harmeet Singh Sandhu. A three-time MLA from Tarn Taran, he joined the AAP in July.

He was elected to the Assembly from Tarn Taran as an Independent in 2002 and in 2007 and 2012 on a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket. He unsuccessfully contested elections from the seat in 2017 and 2022.

In the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls, AAP's Sohal won the seat with over 13,000 votes. The seat fell vacant following his death in June.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, party state in-charge Manish Sisodia and several other leaders campaigned for Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

During campaigning, Kejriwal said the AAP candidate's victory in the bypoll will give a further boost to the development of the border region, as he sought people's support to strengthen the hands of the Mann government.

On the last day of campaigning, Mann's wife, Gurpreet Kaur, and his mother campaigned for the AAP nominee.

In Moose Kalan village, Kaur said she was deeply grateful for the villagers' love and support. The enthusiasm of the people clearly showed how happy they were with the "pro-people" policies of the Mann government, she said.

The Congress has fielded its Tarn Taran district unit committee chief Karanbir Singh Burj from the seat. An agriculturalist and a real estate businessman, Burj will be contesting elections for the first time.

Several party leaders, including Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, campaigned for Burj.

Warring targeted the AAP government over many issues, including law and order, and drugs, and alleged that it failed to check gangsters in the state.

He faced flak from rival parties over his alleged casteist remarks against former Union minister Buta Singh, prompting him to apologise.

The SAD is betting on Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, a retired government school principal and the wife of a "Dharmi Fauji".

Many Sikh soldiers who deserted the Army following Operation Blue Star in 1984 are called "Dharmi Fauji".

Randhawa joined the SAD after merging her Azad Group with the party in July. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his MP wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal campaigned aggressively for Randhawa.

Following a complaint lodged by the SAD, the Election Commission suspended Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Ravjot Kaur Grewal.

The SAD accused the officer of using police to lodge false FIRs against its leaders and cadres to stop them from campaigning for the bypoll.

The BJP has picked its Tarn Taran district unit president Harjit Singh Sandhu for the election. Prior to joining the BJP in 2022, Harjit Singh Sandhu was with the SAD.

The importance of the bypoll for the BJP can be gauged from the fact that many senior party leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, took part in the poll campaign.

Saini said the people of Punjab are disillusioned with the "misrule" of the AAP and now seek development and good governance.

Gupta said the way Kejriwal's AAP "ruined" Delhi, it is "destroying" Punjab today.

Another candidate who will be important to watch in the bypoll is Mandeep Singh, a political greenhorn contesting as an Independent.

He is the brother of Sandeep Singh alias Sunny, an accused in the 2022 murder case of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri.

Sandeep Singh is also an accused in an attack on three former police officers, including two convicted in a fake encounter case in Tarn Taran, inside Patiala jail. One of the convicted former officers, Suba Singh, succumbed to injuries on September 17.

Mandeep Singh has the support of the jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), Giani Harpreet Singh-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) and some radical Sikh bodies, including the Sikh Youth Federation (Bhindranwala).

Amritpal won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in 2024. The Tarn Taran Assembly seat is part of the Khadoor Sahib constituency. There are a total of 15 candidates in the fray.

Campaigning for the high-stakes bypoll came to an end at 6 pm on Sunday. Polling will be held on November 11 from 7 am to 6 pm, and the results will be announced on November 14.

Punjab Chief Electoral Office Sibin C said foolproof security arrangements have been made for the bypoll.

He said 12 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed in the assembly constituency -- one of the largest CAPF deployments in any bypoll.

There are 1,92,838 eligible voters -- 1,00,933 male, 91,897 female, and eight third-gender -- in the Tarn Taran constituency.

A total of 222 polling stations have been set up at 114 locations, of which 60 are urban and 162 are rural, according to officials.

In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, AAP has 93 MLAs, Congress 16, SAD three, BJP two and Bahujan Samaj Party one. One seat is held by an Independent.