Jailed Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, Indira Gandhi assassin’s son win big in Punjab

Chandigarh: Two Independent radical candidates, one of them locked up in an Assam jail under the National Security Act, on Tuesday won their constituencies in Punjab, evoking a radical wave.

In his first electoral contest, Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of ‘Waris Punjab De’ and currently behind bars under the National Security Act, won the Khadoor Sahib seat by 197,120 votes over his nearest rival, Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.

While Amritpal Singh ended up with 404,4300 votes, Zira secured 207,310. Laljit Singh Bhullar of the Aam Aadmi Party was in third place with 194,836 votes. BJP’s Manjit Singh Manna was fifth with 86,373 votes, behind Virsa Singh Valtoha of the Shiromani Akali Dal with 86,416 votes.

For supporters and sympathisers, Amritpal Singh is the next-gen of Sikh ‘separatist leaders’ like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Indian Army’s Operation Blue Star in 1984. He also considers the late separatist an “inspiration” for him.

Amritpal Singh, a fiery pro-Khalistan propagator and self-styled preacher, had been running ‘separatist’ propaganda through speeches before going to jail.

On the radar of Central investigating agencies, he drew comparisons to Bhindranwale owing to his looks and donning a navy blue turban, a white chola and a sword-sized kirpan. However, unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal Singh didn’t have any formal religious schooling. A dropout from a polytechnic, he cut his hair and shaved his beard while in Dubai. Police records say Amritpal Singh, who tied the knot with UK-based NRI Kirandeep Kaur in 2023, has been involved in scores of disputes, kidnappings and issuing threats.

–IANS