The growing political presence of militants in Punjab has worried mainstream political parties and security agencies. Of the 12 Khalists who contested in the Indian Lok Sabha elections, only two managed to win public confidence, but to some extent, their victory could strengthen the separatist forces.
Leader of Waris Punjab De Party Amritpal Singh wins from Khadur Sahib He won by a margin of 197,120 votes, the highest number of votes in the state, and once again attracted attention with this landslide victory.
Meanwhile, Sarabjit Singh defeated Faridkot by a margin of 70,053 votes.
On Thursday, hardliners who had gathered in Amritsar ahead of the 40th anniversary of “Operation Blue Star” shouted pro-Khalistan slogans and brandished pictures of Amritpal.
The impact of their victory will go beyond the two Lok Sabha districts as it is likely to sow unrest in a state that made huge sacrifices to restore peace after decades of insurgency.
The hardliners will also contest five state assembly by-elections in the coming days.
Interestingly, while Amritpal and Sarabjit Singh Khalsa won the election, another charismatic propagandist, Simranjit Singh Mann, lost to AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Meet Heyer by a margin of 173,000 votes.
Simranjit has already joined hands with Amritpal to withdraw one of his candidates from the Kadur Sahib constituency, while Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist who is alleged to have funded Amritpal’s election campaign, has recently threatened to attack the Congress.
The other nine stalwarts who got tickets from Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) lost their deposits. Their vote share ranged from 1.95% to 7.36% and only a few of the 12 candidates could taste victory.
Punjab Assembly Elections The election appears to have underscored the growing power of hard-liners, with Amritpal winning despite being jailed and garnering popular support despite allegations of foreign funding.
Amritpal, who is in prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh prison under the National Security Act, has often said that his fight is against the Indian government and not any community. His controversial comments were openly circulated by his supporters during the Lok Sabha election campaign, which was allegedly funded by a banned terrorist organisation, Sikhs for Justice.
Amritpal’s controversial election manifesto, which was circulated on social media, promised to close all barber shops and beauty salons, in addition to closing butchers, liquor and tobacco shops. It also said that deras, sects such as Radha Swami Satsanga and Nirankari Mission, churches and mosques would not be allowed to function.
The group has promised to train Sikh youth in the latest weaponry, but Amritpal’s father, Tarsem Singh, denies that Amritpal made any such declaration.
Amritpal’s family had said they would not celebrate his victory until June 6. Amritpal’s mother said his Lok Sabha victory was dedicated to the slain Khalistan terrorists.
Why did Amritpal and Sarabjit Singh Khalsa win the election?
Amritpal Singh was able to win the election based on a narrative created by his supporters that he was “promoting Sikhism and Sikh identity” as well as helping people get over their drug addiction. His supporters believed that it was a mistake to arrest him under the National Security Act. Election experts also said that if Singh had been arrested under the Indian Crimes Act, he would have been released on bail, which would not have generated the sympathy factor that led to his victory.
Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, son of the assassin of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, also won the Faridkot elections on issues such as the Behbal Kalan shooting, the release of former Khalistani terrorists and blasphemy cases.
Interestingly, Simranjit Singh Mann too had the potential to win the 2022 by-elections by riding the wave of anti-establishment protests against the Bhagwant government after the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. But this time he was rejected by the voters.
It is clear that the hardliners who won the elections in Khadur Sahib and Faridkot have been successful in winning voters’ support on issues such as the growing drug trade, drug addiction and unresolved blasphemy cases, along with false claims that Sikhism is in danger.
The victory of the hard-liners, on the one hand, proved their growing influence and, on the other, exposed their double standards.
The hardliners who win the 2024 elections have also said that they do not believe in the Indian Constitution and henceforth will have real faith and loyalty to the Constitution.
As there is no provision for administering oath inside the prison, attention is now on whether Amritpal will be released to take oath.
