In Tarn Taran poll battle, SAD finishes second, Sukhbir Badal calls it 'moral victory'

Chandigarh, Nov 14 (PTI) The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal may have failed to taste the electoral victory in the crucial Tarn Taran assembly bypoll in Punjab, but it managed to end up securing the second spot.

In the outcome of the bypoll to the Tarn Taran assembly segment, which was declared on Friday, the ruling party AAP retained it with its candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu defeating his nearest rival and SAD nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by a margin of 12,091 votes.

AAP's Sandhu secured 42,649 votes against Randhawa's 30,558 after the 16th round of counting was completed, the Election Commission website showed.

Randhawa even led the first three of the total 16 rounds of counting in the bypoll to Tarn Taran, which is considered a 'Panthic' seat.

Randhawa secured 25.96 per cent of the votes in the bypoll, indicating that the party was still a strong contender in the Tarn Taran seat.

Despite his party remaining on the losing side in the bypoll, Badal thanked the "wise and brave" voters for standing firm against the state government's "oppression".

"The Khalsa Panth and Punjab will always remain indebted to the voters of Tarn Taran Sahib for steadfastly casting their votes for SAD Dal candidate Bibi Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa.

"Due to the love of the brave voters of Tarn Taran Sahib, this election result has turned out to be an unparalleled moral victory for the SAD," said Badal in a post on X.

Calling his party's performance in the bypoll a "forceful moral knock out to all the combined anti-Akali, anti-Punjab and anti-Panthic forces", Badal said, "the resurgence of Punjab's regional voice exposes all anti-Punjab and anti-Panth forces and their co-conspirators. This raises the curtain for the return of a Panthic government of all Punjabis in Punjab in 2027." After facing a series of crushing electoral losses, the SAD's performance in the bypoll showed that it remains a key challenger in the border constituency.

The Tarn Taran assembly constituency was once considered an Akali stronghold until 2017. The Badal-led SAD faced defeats both in the 2017 and 2022 assembly polls.

In this bypoll, Badal campaigned aggressively, targeting the Congress and AAP. His party had even distributed relief material to flood-hit areas in Tarn Taran.

Badal-led Akali Dal was facing an electoral challenge not only from rival parties but also from Independent candidate Mandeep Singh, who had the backing of Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) led by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, Giani Harpreet Singh-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) and some radical Sikh bodies.

Mandeep is the brother of Sandeep Singh alias Sunny, an accused in the 2022 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri. Sandeep is also an accused in an attack on three former police officers, including two convicted in a fake encounter case in Tarn Taran, inside the Patiala jail.

One of the convicted former officers, Suba Singh, succumbed to his injuries on September 17.

SAD candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa was a retired principal from a government school and the wife of a 'Dharmi Fauji'-- a term used for Sikh soldiers who deserted the Army after Operation Blue Star in 1984.

In the Tarn Taran bypoll, Mandeep secured third position with 19,620 votes.

The 104-year-old SAD has been facing a crisis with its political fortunes dwindling over the past several years.

In 2007, SAD formed the government in alliance with the BJP, and they retained power in 2012. But in 2017, Congress wrested power. The Akali Dal's tally was reduced to 15, and the Aam Aadmi Party became the main opposition.

The party suffered its worst defeat in Punjab in 2022, winning only three seats out of 117, while the AAP came to power in the state for the first time.

The Badal-led SAD faced another drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as it managed to win only the Bathinda parliamentary constituency out of a total of 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

In the Ludhiana West bypoll in June, the SAD was in the fourth position. Prior to it, the Akali Dal opted out of the four bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments. PTI CHS AMJ AMJ