With Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh deciding to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Assam jail as an Impartial candidate, the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary seat in Punjab has once more come into focus of Panthic (Sikh) politics. Voting in Punjab for 13 Lok Sabha seats, together with the Sikh majority Khadoor Sahib, might be held in a single part on June 1.
Khadoor Sahib, masking 4 districts, is the one seat in Punjab which has voters from all key areas of the state – Majha, Malwa, and Doaba.
Meeting segments within the Majha area—Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Patti, and Khadoor Sahib—are in Tarn Taran district, whereas Baba Bakala and Jandiala Meeting seats are a part of Amritsar district. Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi Assemblies fall in Kapurthala district of Doaba area, and Zira of Ferozepur district connects Khadoor Sahib with Malwa.
Khadoor Sahib, which got here to existence after the final delimitation train in 2008, has nearly all of the realm that was a part of Tarn Taran parliament seat from the place now Sangrur MP and pro-Khalistan chief Simranjit Singh Mann was elected to Lok Sabha in 1989 whereas he was in jail in reference to the Indira Gandhi assassination case.
The victory of Mann had paved the way in which for his launch from jail. Amritpal Singh may even contest elections from jail as he has been detained beneath Nationwide Safety Act.
The Panthic profile of Khadoor Sahib made Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the spouse of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who was kidnapped and ‘forcefully disappeared’ by the Punjab Police in 1995, contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Jaswant Singh Khalra was focused as he pursued a case towards the mass cremations and unlawful killings by the Punjab Police.
Although Paramjit Kaur Khalra misplaced the elections, she secured greater than 20 per cent of the votes. Khalra was a possible candidate, and it was additionally the rationale that former Chief of Military Workers Basic J J Singh had determined to withdraw his title from Khadoor Sahib, as many appealed to him to not contest towards Bibi Khalra whose husband sacrificed his life for safeguarding human rights. Basic J J Singh was contesting from SAD(Taksali), a celebration that not exists, as its founder Ranjit Singh Brahmapura had later joined SAD(B).
SAD tastes defeat for first time in Panthic belt
The 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Khadoor Sahib was distinctive within the sense that it was the primary time Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) tasted defeat within the Panthic belt since 1992. The division of votes between Khalra and Jagir Kaur of SAD led to the comfy victory of Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa, the primary for the occasion in nearly 4 many years.
Within the 2014 elections, SAD (B) candidate Ranjit Singh Brahmapura maintained greater than a 9 per cent lead over Congress candidate Harminder Singh Gill.
Sources mentioned that SAD (B) had approached Paramjit Kaur Khalra to contest this election from Khadoor Sahib seat, a suggestion which she declined. The names of former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia and former MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha are additionally doing the rounds. Moreover, the occasion has been criticizing the AAP authorities for its alleged human rights violation concerning the detention of Amritpal Singh in Assam.
Even because the Congress is but to announce its candidate for Khadoor Sahib, sitting MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa had mentioned that he gained’t be within the race.
In accordance with sources, businessman-turned Congress MLA from Kapurthala Gurjit Singh Rana needs the Khadoor Sahib ticket for his son Rana Inder Partap Singh, who was elected an Impartial MLA from Sultanpur Lodhi within the 2022 Meeting elections. Each Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala are a part of the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary seat, making the father-son duo favourites for the Congress.
In the meantime, Bikram Singh Majithia set the hearsay mill working on Thursday stating that the ruling AAP is planning to discipline former prime police officer Gurinder Singh Dhillon in Khadoor Sahib.
He posted on X, “As per my data, former ADGP Legislation and Order S. Gurinder Singh Dhillon, who took voluntary retirement (VRS) might be AAP’s candidate from the Sri Khadoor Sahib Constituency. Earlier, AAP introduced Cupboard Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar because the candidate from the Sri Khadoor Sahib Constituency.”
The hearsay gained weight as shortly after the put up, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took out a rally in Khadoor Sahib on Friday, during which he hardly talked about the title of Laljit Singh Bhullar, who’s the AAP candidate within the constituency.
The CM didn’t bathe any reward on Bhullar, which was in any other case regular throughout electioneering, however as a substitute warned Bhullar whereas on stage towards making any controversial assertion. CM Mann additionally apologised to the general public for a casteist comment that Bhullar made earlier this month.
Laljit Bhullar landed in soup over his casteist remarks towards the Ramgharia and Goldsmith communities whereas attacking Harmandir Singh Gill, former Congress MLA from Patti whom he defeated within the 2022 Punjab election.
Within the earlier Lok Sabha elections, AAP suffered a blow as its candidate Manjinder Singh couldn’t save deposits within the 2019 election. Singh, nevertheless, was elected from Khadoor Sahib Meeting seat simply three years later.
Within the 2022 Meeting elections, AAP secured barely extra votes collectively from all 9 meeting constituencies, a part of Khadoor Sahib than the sitting Congress MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa secured within the 2019 elections. SAD(B) maintained its vote share in Khadoor Sahib seat with a minor dent within the 2022 Meeting elections.
It was the Congress occasion which just about competed with SAD by way of votes in 2022 elections; nevertheless, its vote share fell drastically as compared with the 2019 outcomes for the Khadoor Sahib seat.