Chandigarh: The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab retained the Tarn Taran assembly seat with its candidate Harmeet Sandhu winning the byelection, defeating his nearest rival and Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD’s) Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by 12,091 votes on Friday.
However, springing a surprise, the independent candidate Mandeep Singh, who had the backing of jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) and other panthic groups, finished third trouncing Congress’ nominee Karanbir Singh to fourth and BJP’s Harjit Sandhu, to distant fifth positions.
While Sandhu secured 42,649 votes, Randhawa got 30,558 and Mandeep Singh, 19,620 votes. Congress Karanbir Singh Burj got 15,078 votes and BJP Harjit Singh Sandhu, 6,239 votes.
In all, there were 15 candidates in the fray. Votes were polled on November 11 and the voters’ turnout was 60.95%. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June, this year.
With this win, the AAP now has 94 MLAs in the House of 117 members, the main opposition Congress, 16, SAD, 3, BJP, 2 BSP 1, and there is one independent MLA.
The bypoll was being seen as a litmus test for the ruling party and the chief minister Bhagwant Mann as its outcome was to provide a barometer of their popularity ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly polls.
