The victory of Amritpal Singh in Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency has come as a sigh of relief not only for him but also for his 41 aides who were facing political untouchability and isolation, having been locked up in different jails in Punjab and Assam.
Less than 14 months ago Amritpal Singh, head of the pro-Khalistan Waris Punjab De, was a wanted fugitive as the Aam Aadmi Party government started a crackdown on his organization with the help of the BJP-led Union government.
His Khalistan activism landed him in jail within eight months of his return from Dubai, where he was looking after his family’s transport business. But the word Khalistan went missing from his election campaign, which was precisely focused on drug addiction and the release of Sikh prisoners.
Asked whether the preparations for 2027 Assembly elections are on, Amritpal Singh’s mother Balwinder Kaur said, “It will be on the Sangat. The Sangat will have to make the decision. The decision to contest from Khadoor Sahib was also taken by the Sangat.”
Less than two months ago, on April 8, no one moved when the Punjab police arrested her to spoil the religious march planned from the Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo to the Akal Takht to press for the release of Amritpal Singh.
On April 25, Amritpal Singh surprised many when he announced his candidacy for the Khadoor Sahib seat while sitting 2,700 km away at a jail in Assam’s Dibrugarh where he is locked up under the National Security Act.
Waris Punjab De’s Gurmeet Singh, Pappalpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh, Harjit Singh, Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh, Sarabjit Singh Kalsi, Gurinder Pal Singh and Sarabjit Singh have also been jailed at Dibrugarh. Thirty-two others from the group are jailed in Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Amritsar.
Crackdown after attack on police station
The Punjab police launched the crackdown after Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades and barged into the police station in Amritsar’s Ajnala town and clashed with police demanding the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aids, on February 23 last year.
There was hardly any visible support for Amritpal Singh when his parents protested against the government throughout the year. Except from Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and some half-hearted voices from the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), the campaign for the release of Amritpal Singh and his supporters found little support. His Khalistan activism was the reason behind the isolation.
Amritpal Singh’s parents held prayers at all five Takhts of Sikhs to highlight the detention. They also held a “hunger strike until death” but it could not move the government.
There was always sympathy for Amritpal Singh in a section of society; however, the visible support for such a campaign remained negligible. It was the weak response to the campaign to release Amritpal Singh that made the government ignore the repeated pleas.
However, visible support came in a more moderate way than Amritpal Singh’s parents were imagining. As soon as the election campaign started, AAP candidates had been facing questions from the public over the detention of Amritpal Singh and his supporters. Many such videos surfaced during the election campaign showing AAP candidates being asked questions about Amritpal Singh’s detention.
The support for Amritpal Singh started getting visible as soon as he announced the plan to contest the Lok Sabha elections. His parents ran his election campaign and people, especially youngsters, joined them.
However, the absence of the word Khalistan was conspicuous as the election campaign was focused on the drug problem and the demand to release Amritpal Singh and his supporters. Amritpal Singh’s parents avoided mentioning or questioning Khalistan. They ducked questions on Khalistan saying that only Amritpal Singh would answer them.
Also, Amritpal Singh did not release any provocative statements from jail during the election campaign. He had a long run from Punjab to Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and then came back to Punjab to surrender at Moga district’s Rode, the native village of hardliner Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was the head of the Damdami Taksal.
Amritpal Singh has 12 cases pending against him in different police stations of Punjab. It is yet to be seen if his victory will allow Amritpal to come out of jail. Also unclear is whether he will stick to moderate politics or switch back to politics of separatism if released from jail.
