Punjab: AAP retains Tarn Taran assembly seat; Cong, BJP lose security deposits

Tarn Taran (Punjab), Nov 14 (PTI) Punjab's ruling AAP retained the Tarn Taran assembly seat with its candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu defeating his nearest rival and SAD nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by a margin of 12,091 votes in the November 11 bypolls.

Congress and BJP candidates lost their security deposits.

Sandhu secured 42,649 votes against Randhawa's 30,558 after the completion of all 16 rounds of counting, the Election Commission website showed.

Celebrations broke out at AAP offices in Tarn Taran and Chandigarh, with party workers dancing to drum beats, bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets.

Sandhu, along with party workers, took out a victory march here.

Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Randhawa was leading in the first three rounds of counting before Harmeet Singh Sandhu took over and maintained a steady lead.

Independent candidate Mandeep Singh was in the third spot with 19,620 votes, Congress' Karanbir Singh Burj was fourth with 15,078, and BJP's Harjit Singh Sandhu was a distant fifth with 6,239 votes. A total of 15 candidates were in the fray.

With this victory, the AAP has won six out of seven bypolls that took place since March 2022.

Sandhu secured 36.23 per cent share of the total 1,17,713 votes polled while Randhawa secured 25.96 per cent and Independent candidate Mandeep got 16.67 per cent, the poll panel's website showed. The BJP's vote share was 5.3 per cent and the Congress' 12.81 per cent.

According to the Election Commission's website, 609 voters opted for NOTA.

Sandhu, who has been a three-time MLA from Tarn Taran, joined AAP in July. He was elected an Independent in 2002 and as a SAD candidate in 2007 and 2012. He lost the seat in 2017 and 2022.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the AAP's victory in the bypoll shows that the people of Punjab appreciate the politics of development.

"The people of Punjab have once again reposed their trust in the Aam Aadmi Party. This is the victory of the people, of our hard-working volunteers, and of the entire leadership. We will fulfil every promise made to the residents of Tarn Taran during the bypoll on priority," he said in a post on X.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal took to X to claim that the "historic" victory proves that Punjab overwhelmingly supports the politics of development and CM Mann's honest leadership.

"This historic victory in the Tarn Taran by-election clearly shows that Punjab wants work-based politics. Punjab has once again reposed faith in AAP. This is the people's victory and the victory of every hard-working volunteer. Heartiest congratulations to the people of Punjab and all our workers," said Kejriwal.

Cabinet minister and Punjab AAP president Amam Arora said the victory is the people's stamp on development works carried out by his party's government.

Opposition parties had termed this bypoll a semi-final before the 2027 Punjab assembly polls. AAP has won the semi-final, and it will certainly win the final with even a bigger margin, he claimed.

Referring to AAP's win in previous bypolls -- Jalandhar West (Dalit-majority reserved seat), Ludhiana West (urban Hindu-majority seat) and now Tarn Taran (Panthic Sikh-majority seat) -- Arora emphasised that victories across three different demographic categories prove that it is the preferred party of every religion, caste, region and class.

"This proves that AAP is today the first choice of every faith, every community, every class, and every section of society," he said.

AAP's Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia congratulated party leaders and workers for the victory. Voters have once again rejected the Akali Dal, Congress and BJP, he said.

Without naming anyone, Sisodia castigated Punjab Congress leaders over their alleged "anti-Dalit" statements during the campaign and claimed that people have expressed their displeasure against such remarks.

He was referring to Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring's alleged "casteist" remarks against former Union minister late Buta Singh.

The bypoll was being seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leaders, who campaigned aggressively to retain this seat.

The outcome came as a major setback for the Congress and the BJP, for whom this bye-election was crucial ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly polls.

Though the Congress vigorously campaigned in the bypoll, state unit chief Warring faced flak from rival parties for his "derogatory" remarks against former Union home minister late Buta Singh, with political observers claiming it dented the party's prospects in the bypoll.

Reacting to the outcome, Warring said the Congress humbly accepted people's verdict, adding that the party leadership will examine the reasons for the loss and take the necessary measures to address those.

"Loss or win is part of the game", he said. "We lose some and we win some, and for sure we will win the bigger game in 2027." Warring claimed, "The Congress was placed at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the ruling party. In all the bypolls held in the last four years, the ruling party has ensured that the state machinery worked for it as an ally, and that is precisely what happened in Tarn Taran." The BJP, which was also expecting a good showing in the bypoll in the border constituency, failed to deliver.

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said the results indicated the party needs to do more work to transform the development agenda into a people's agenda and to ensure that information about the Central government's schemes for the poor reaches every person.

"We will carry out this work with even greater intensity in the times to come," he said in a post on X.

With the bypoll win, the AAP's strength has reached 94 in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. The Congress has 16 seats in the House, SAD three, BJP two, Bahujan Samaj Party one, and one seat is held by an Independent. PTI CHS VSD NSD NSD