How hardline Sikhs may give tough time to mainstream parties in Khadoor Sahib

The Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab is in the spotlight after jailed 'Waris Punjab De' chief Amritpal Singh decided to contest the election from this Sikh-dominated segment as an independent candidate.

This constituency, where religious issues take the centre stage, comprises nine assembly seats, including Jandiala, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Patti, Khadoor Sahib, Baba Bakala, Zira, Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala.

The issues that are dominating the poll scene in this seat include the release of former Khalistani terrorists called 'Bandi Singhs', and the arrest of Amritpal Singh among others. 'Bandi Singhs' is a term given to Sikh prisoners who were convicted for involvement in militancy in Punjab.

AKALI DAL (BADAL) FACES AMRITPAL SINGH CHALLENGE

Amritpal's decision to contest the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate left the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) high and dry as the party had sought support from his family.

The SAD nominee from Khadoor Sahib, Virsa Singh Valtoha, had met Amritpal's father, Tarsem Singh, who allegedly assured him all his support.

Two more developments that will affect the Akali Dal (Badal) are the withdrawal of the party nominee by Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) in Amritpal's favour and unconditional support from Paramjit Kaur Khalda, who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election and bagged 20.51 per cent votes. She is now spearheading the election campaign of Amritpal Singh.

The Akali Dal (Badal) also fears that Sikh hardliners' votes will get divided like in 2019. SAD, which openly calls itself a religious party (panthic party), lost the previous election from this seat following a division of votes.

The biggest challenge before the Akali Dal (Badal) is to counter Amritpal Singh and neutralise his impact among the hardline voters.

The party has also come under fire from its rivals over the sacrilege cases reported during the SAD-BJP regime.

SAD, which had earlier supported the demand to shift Amritpal from Assam jail to Punjab, is now targeting him. Its candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha has accused him of putting the religion in danger and having relations with the RSS.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019 LOK SABHA POLLS

The 2019 election was won by Congress's Jasmine Singh Gill, who bagged 43.95% of the votes, followed by Jagir Kaur of SAD-BJP who polled 30.51% votes.

Sikh activist Jaswant Singh Khalra's wife Paramjit Kaur Khalra of the Punjab Ekta party finished third with 20.51% of votes. AAP's Manjinder Singh Sidhu managed to get just 1.31% of votes.

Khadoor Sahib was a pocket borough of the Akali Dal (Badal), which won the 2014 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections. However, the party's vote share shrunk from 49.43% in 2009 to 44.91% in 2014 and 30.51% in 2019.

AAP SAW RISE IN VOTE SHARE IN 2022 ASSEMBLY POLLS

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominee lost his deposit in 2019, the party's vote share spiked in the 2022 Assembly elections. Seven of the nine Assembly segments of Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency were bagged by AAP in 2022.

The remaining two segments of this constituency are represented by Congress's Rana Gurjit Singh and his son Inder Pratap Singh. Rana was keen to get a ticket for Inder Pratap for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but it went to Kulbir Singh Zira. The decision miffed Gurjit Singh.

A video of one of their supporters has gone viral on social media in which he is seen claiming that Amritpal was getting a good response in many segments.

Amritpal's decision to enter the electoral fray has made the Khadoor Sahib polls a four-way contest. The Congress and AAP can divide mainstream voters and the pro-hardliner votes are likely to go to Akali Dal (Badal) and Amritpal.