Tarn Taran bypoll: SAD upbeat over result, but vote %age sliding steadily

The Tarn Taran bypoll might be taken as an indication of a much-sought-after resurrection of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), but the actual vote percentage data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) tells a different story.

As per the ECI data, the vote share of SAD was on a declining trend in Tarn Taran since 2017. However, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the division of Panthic votes, which led to the victory of Amritpal Singh as Khadoor Sahib MP in 2024, settled in favour of SAD in the 2025 bypoll.

During the 2017 Assembly poll, the SAD’s vote percentage was 34.1 per cent. The then SAD candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu — who has now switched over to the AAP and won the Tarn Taran bypoll — had secured 45,165 votes to finish as runner-up. In the 2022 Assembly poll, the same SAD candidate Sandhu got 39,347 votes, while the vote percentage dropped to 30.06 per cent. He was again placed at second position.

In the 2025 Tarn Taran bypoll, SAD candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa polled 30,558 votes to emerge at second place, but the vote share dipped to 25.96 per cent. These imply that the SAD has lost around 14,000 votes since 2017 in the Tarn Taran belt.

SAD chief spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that despite all odds like state oppression and misuse of official machinery, the division of Panthic votes went in favour of SAD. “We are keeping up the momentum and preparing for the 2027 poll,” he said.

Another senior SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Garewal said that the vote percentage is bound to diminish when the number of contenders increase. “During 2017 and 2022, the main contenders were from three traditional parties — SAD, Congress and AAP. Now, there were five candidates in the fray. That’s why the vote percentage diminished. But overall, our performance as the regional Panthic arm of the state was remarkable,” he said.

Former professor of GNDU Prof Kuldip Singh said that on paper, the vote percentage might have dropped due to division of Panthic votes. “Earlier, the vote percentage was higher as it was only SAD which used to pocket Panthic votes. Now, the Panthic votes have got divided with the emergence of rival Panthic parties,” he said.