Amritpal Singh’s party seeks wider appeal, but Khalistan remains a faultline

The party’s effort to keep political focus on drugs and governance is often overshadowed by its jailed leader's vocal support for Khalistan and competing views within.

5 min readChandigarhUpdated: Sep 30, 2026 06:08 AM IST

Amritpal Singh’s party seeks wider appeal, but Khalistan remains a faultline

Amritpal Singh won the 2024 elections as Independent (File Photo)

The Akali Dal Waris Punjab De is facing a political challenge of its own making on how to broaden its appeal while accommodating a constituency in which support for Khalistan remains visible.

The tension was underscored by the brief four-day stint of former Enforcement Directorate (ED) official Niranjan Singh, whose decision to leave the party on Monday after publicly rejecting Khalistan brought the issue back into focus.

The episode highlights a contradiction the party has sought to manage since its formation in January 2025, months after its chief and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an Independent.

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While Amritpal, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh Jail in connection with a police station attack case, has been unapologetic about his support for Khalistan, the party’s mainstream political discourse has largely focused on drugs and other issues.

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While Amritpal’s position on Khalistan was well-known, tension surfaced soon after his election. In July 2024, his mother, Balwinder Kaur, said he was not a supporter of Khalistan. Amritpal subsequently issued a statement contradicting her.

Niranjan’s entry into the party briefly exposed the same fault line. Soon after joining, the former ED official said in several interviews that he rejected Khalistan and that there was no place in the party for anything outside the Constitution. The party did not publicly distance itself from his remarks, but Niranjan soon announced his departure, while wishing the party well.

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Khalistan, the political issue

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The experience of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) offers a wider political view with regard to the issue. The party, led by Simranjit Singh Mann, has consistently advocated Khalistan and has contested elections on the issue. Mann has been elected to Parliament three times, most recently from Sangrur in a 2022 bypoll, but the party has struggled to expand beyond a limited electoral base, particularly in Assembly elections.

For the WPD, the question is complicated further by its own political imagery. Its campaign material and rallies continue to feature Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Sikh militants and human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. At the same time, references to Bhindranwale are not confined to parties associated with the Khalistan movement. The BJP has maintained relations with the Damdami Taksal, which reveres Bhindranwale, while leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have also referred to him respectfully in speeches.

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Amritpal’s Lok Sabha victory showed that voters were willing to elect him despite his known position on Khalistan. But Niranjan’s departure has highlighted the difficulty of reconciling that position with the party’s broader attempt to attract leaders and supporters with different views.

The WPD’s stance

Gangveer Singh Rathore, a Hindu leader and WPD spokesperson, defended the party’s use of the term “Khalsa Raj” and said it was compatible with the Constitution and that party leaders use the phrase as a synonym for Khalistan.

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“Raj Karega Khalsa”, he noted, has been part of Sikh prayers for centuries. Rathore argued that the idea of Khalsa Raj had been “criminalised” after 1947.

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Rathore said he regarded Khalsa Raj as a legitimate historical concept centred on welfare and just governance. He pointed to the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, under which Hindus and Muslims lived alongside Sikhs, as an example of what he described as a shared Punjabi experience.

Rathore also rejected the suggestion that Khalsa Raj was inherently incompatible with the Constitution. The party, he said, could operate only within the constitutional framework, while those who saw an inherent conflict between the two concepts had, in his view, a limited understanding of Punjab’s history.

The WPD leader also invoked BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s reference to the Guru Granth Sahib as a “manifesto” of the people and drew a parallel between its vision of Begampura and the party’s conception of Khalsa Raj.

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Rathore said the WPD wanted to bring people with different ideologies into its fold, but added that they would have to join with “an open heart” and that hatred towards other ideologies would not be allowed.

Kamaldeep Singh Brar

Kamaldeep Singh Brar is a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express, primarily covering Amritsar and the Majha region of Punjab. He is one of the publication's key reporters for stories involving the Akal Takht, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and the sensitive socio-political issues of the border districts. Core Beats & Specializations Religious & Panthic Affairs: He has deep expertise in the internal workings of the Akal Takht and SGPC, frequently reporting on religious sentences (Tankhah), Panthic politics, and the influence of Sikh institutions. National Security & Crime: His reporting covers cross-border drug smuggling, drone activities from Pakistan, and the activities of radical groups. Regional Politics: He is the primary correspondent for the Majha belt, covering elections and political shifts in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His work in late 2025 has been centered on judicial developments, local body elections, and religious controversies: 1. Religious Politics & Akal Takht "Akal Takht pronounces religious sentences against former Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh" (Dec 8, 2025): Covering the historic decision to hold the former Jathedar guilty for granting a pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015. "YouTube suspends SGPC’s channel for a week over video on 1984 Army action" (Nov 20, 2025): Reporting on the digital friction between global tech platforms and Sikh religious bodies. "As AAP govt grants Amritsar holy tag, a look at its fraught demand" (Nov 28, 2025): An analytical piece on the long-standing demand for declaring Amritsar a "holy city" and its political implications. 2. Crime & National Security "Mostly Khalistanis on Amritpal’s hit list: Punjab govt to High Court" (Dec 16, 2025): Reporting on the state government's claims regarding jailed MP Amritpal Singh orchestrating activity from prison. "Punjab man with links to Pakistan’s ISI handlers killed in encounter" (Nov 20, 2025): Detailing a police operation in Amritsar involving "newly refurbished" firearms likely sent from across the border. "15 schools in Amritsar get bomb threat emails; police launch probe" (Dec 12, 2025): Covering the panic and police response to mass threats against educational institutions. 3. Political Analysis & Elections "AAP wins 12 of 15 zones in SAD stronghold Majitha" (Dec 19, 2025): Highlighting a significant shift in the 2025 rural elections where the Akali Dal lost its grip on a traditional fortress. "Tarn Taran bypoll: woman faces threats after complaining to CM Mann about drug menace" (Nov 9, 2025): A ground report on the personal risks faced by citizens speaking out against the illegal drug trade in border villages. "AAP wins Tarn Taran bypoll, but SAD finds silver lining" (Nov 14, 2025): Analyzing the 2025 assembly by-election results and the surprising performance of Independents backed by radical factions. 4. Human Interest "Two couples and a baby: Punjab drug addiction tragedy has new victims" (Nov 20, 2025): A tragic investigative piece about parents selling an infant to fund their addiction. "Kashmiri women artisans debut at Amritsar’s PITEX" (Dec 8, 2025): A feature on financial independence initiatives for rural women at the Punjab International Trade Expo. Signature Beat Kamaldeep is known for his nuanced understanding of border dynamics. His reporting often highlights the "drug crisis in the underprivileged localities" (like Muradpur in Tarn Taran, Nov 9, 2025), providing a voice to marginalized communities affected by addiction and administrative neglect. X (Twitter): @kamalsbrar ... Read More

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