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Amritpal Singh, the head of the Khalistani outfit Waris Punjab De, who has been lodged in a jail in Assam since April 2023, has announced his intention to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, to be held on June 1. On April 26, Singh’s parents confirmed that their son will contest the polls from the Khadoor Sahib seat.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951 disqualifies those convicted of an offence and given a prison sentence of two years and more from membership of Parliament and state Legislatures.
Section 8 (3) of the Act says: “A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years…shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.”
But the Act does not prevent undertrials from contesting elections. Singh has not been convicted yet. So, he can contest the Lok Sabha elections, like many others before him.
No. To file a nomination, either the candidate or the proposer, who is an elector of the constituency concerned, has to appear in person before the Returning Officer (RO) with a complete nomination form. This means that it is not compulsory for Singh to appear to file his nomination.
For an Independent candidate, the Act requires 10 proposers for each nomination. Candidates from recognised national and state parties require one proposer. Each candidate has to furnish the details of any pending cases against their name relating to offences punishable with imprisonment of two years or more.
Khadoor Saheb has a deep symbolic value to the Sikhs, which was visited by eight Sikh Gurus.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has been winning the seat since 1992. However, the party faced a defeat in the 2019 polls when Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa won the seat.
This time, the SAD (B) has nominated former MLA Virsa Singh Valtoga from this seat, while the Congress has fielded Kulbir Singh Zira, a former MLA.
The AAP is said to be planning to field former top police officer Gurinder Singh Dhillon in Khadoor Sahib.
Singh, 30, was relatively unknown in Punjab until two years ago. He had been working in Dubai for 10 years and returned to Punjab in 2022 to take over Waris Punjab De, an organisation started by actor and activist Deep Sidhu. ‘Waris Punjab De’ says it works to help the youth of the state “follow the tenets of Sikhism” and “establish Khalsa Raj”.
After his return, Singh styled himself as pro-Khalistan slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and started making speeches in support of Khalistan across gurdwaras in Punjab and on social media.
He was in the national spotlight when Singh and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station on February 23 last year to demand the release of Lovepreet Singh, a member of Waris Punjab De, who had been arrested in an alleged kidnapping case.
While Lovepreet was released, the political storm that followed led to a police crackdown on Singh and his supporters. He managed to evade arrest for over a month and was finally arrested on April 23 from a gurdwara in Moga district of Punjab and lodged in a jail in distant Dibrugarh, Assam.
He was booked under the National Security Act and has attempt to murder, abduction and extortion charges pending against him.
