A major shake-up has taken place in Punjab politics due the performance of two Independent candidates. Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, jailed in Assam's Dibrugarh, seems all set to win from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab while Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of Indira Gandhi's assassin Beant Singh, is leading from the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency.
At the time of writing this story, Amritpal Singh had a lead of 1.8 lakh votes over his nearest rival while Sarabjeet Singh was leading by about 70,000.
Khadoor Sahib
Khadoor Sahib is known as a Panthic seat. It has been dominated by one faction or the other of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Hardline Akali leader Simranjit Singh Mann had won Tarn Taran, the precursor to Khadoor Sahib, in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. It was only in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that the Congress managed to wrest the seat, mainly due to a split in votes between the Shiromani Akali Dal and Punjabi Ekta Party Bibi Paramjit Kaur Khalra.
In this election, Amritpal was up against Kulbir Zira of the Congress, minister Laljit Bhullar from AAP, Virsa Singh Valtoha from SAD (Badal) and Manjit Singh Mann from BJP.
Faridkot
In Faridkot, AAP candidate - comic actor Karamjit Anmol was said to be in the lead in the initial phase of the campaign. But Sarabjeet's campaign took of in the last leg of the campaign. Congress fielded Amarjeet Kaur Sahoke, SAD put up Rajwinder Singh Dharamkot while BJP fielded singer and former Northwest Delhi MP Hans Raj Hans.
At the time of writing this story, they were in third, fourth and fifth position respectively.
Sangrur
On the other hand, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann has lost from Sangrur. The seat has been won by Meet Hayer of AAP. Mann's prospects are said to have been harmed by Congress candidate Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who stood second in the seat.
What Explains Their Success?
For a section of Sikhs, Sarabjeet's father Beant Singh was a hero who avenged the attack on Harmandir Sahib. By extension, Sarabjeet is seen as the son of a martyr. He is seen as someone whose childhood was sacrificed in the name of the faith.
Incidentally, the results in Punjab are coming in the week in which Operation Bluestar was carried out 40 years ago. For Sikhs it was a deeply traumatic event as it involved the destruction of their holiest site.
Their success also comes as the latest chapter in a long term churn in Panthic politics that has been going on for about a decade or so. Read this piece to know more.
What Happens Next?
Whether Amritpal Singh remains incarcerated or not will depend on the Union government revokes the charges against him. In 1989 the then government had released Simranjit Singh Mann after he won from the Tarn Taran seat (which is now in Khadoor Sahib) while still being in jail.
Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh's win are likely to intensify the churn within Sikh politics. They would become challengers to both the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and SAD (Amritsar) led by Simranjit Singh Mann.
The SAD (Badal) candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha had alleged during the campaign that Amritpal Singh's lawyer - Rajdev Singh Khalsa - is an "RSS man". Rajdev Singh has had short stints with the BJP and RSS-affiliated Rashtriya Sikh Sangat in the past but he claims he has no ties with them.
It remains to be seen what happens next in the Panthic space in the months to come - whether any of the existing parties are able to absorb this strand or whether a new force emerges in the state's political landscape.
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