Two independent radical candidates, including one imprisoned in Assam under the National Security Act, secured victories in their Punjab constituencies on Tuesday, sparking a wave of radical sentiment.
In his inaugural electoral campaign, Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, leader of 'Waris Punjab De' and currently detained under the National Security Act, triumphed in the Khadoor Sahib constituency. He won with a comfortable margin of 197,120 votes against his nearest rival, Congress nominee Kulbir Singh Zira.
Amritpal Singh secured 404,430 votes, while Zira got 207,310. In third place, Laljit Singh Bhullar of the Aam Aadmi Party scored 194,836 votes. In fifth place was the BJP's Manjit Singh Manna, with 86,373 votes, behind Virsa Singh Valtoha of the Shiromani Akali Dal, who received 86,416 votes.
He is seen and projected by his supporters and sympathizers as the new generation of Sikh 'separatist leaders' in the league of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was eliminated during the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984. The late separatist leader happens to be the \"inspiration\" for Amritpal Singh himself.
A strong advocate of Khalistan and a self-proclaimed preacher, Amritpal Singh had been delivering speeches on 'separatist' lines before he was lodged in jail. Central investigating agencies were taking serious cognizance of his activities and compared him with Bhindranwale on the basis of his look—navy blue turban, white chola, and a large kirpan. But unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal Singh has not received any religious education from any religious institution. A polytechnic dropout, he has shorn hair and beard during the course of his stay in Dubai. Police records show that after Amritpal Singh married UK-based NRI Kirandeep Kaur in 2023, he has been involved in several disputes, kidnappings, and issuing threats..
Originating from Jallupur Khera in Amritsar district, Amritpal Singh was relatively unknown until September 2022 when he returned to India from Dubai, where he had managed his family's transport business since 2012. After assuming leadership of 'Waris Punjab De' (Heirs of Punjab), he sought to position himself as a new leader for the panthic cause, urging the youth to "fight for the freedom" of the Panth.
'Waris Punjab De' was founded by lawyer-actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu in 2021. Sidhu, one of the accused in the Red Fort violence, tragically died in a car accident near Haryana's Sonepat in February 2022.
In the Faridkot (reserved) constituency, Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, the son of one of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassins, won by a margin of 70,053 votes over his nearest rival, AAP's Karamjit Singh Anmol. Khalsa secured 298,062 votes, while Anmol received 228,009. Congress's Amarjit Kaur Sahoke was third with 160,357 votes. BJP's Hans Raj Hans finished fifth with 123,533 votes.
Khalsa, a Class 12 dropout, had previously contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully in 2014 and 2009 from the Fatehgarh Sahib (reserved) and Bathinda constituencies, respectively, and was a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate in 2019. He is the son of Beant Singh, one of the bodyguards who assassinated Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. His mother, Bimal Kaur, and grandfather, Sucha Singh, served as MPs from Ropar and Bathinda, respectively, in 1989.
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