2 days ago
Former SAD leader Harmeet Singh Sandhu to join AAP today ahead of Tarn Taran bypoll
Former three-time MLA from Tarn Taran, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, 56, is likely to join Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday.
His induction in the party is being linked to an upcoming Assembly byelection necessitated after the demise of sitting AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal on June 27. The constituency was subsequently declared vacant by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Sandhwan. AAP may field him from Taran Tarn in the byelection.
The Assembly bypoll in Taran Tarn, which has to be conducted within six months after the announcement of the constituency falling vacant, has not been announced yet.
Sandhu was considered close to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who is in Nabha jail currently after being arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in a disproportionate assets case. He had quit SAD in November last year, handing his resignation to then acting president Balwinder Singh Bhunder. He had cited personal reasons for the resignation. Ever since, conjectures were being made about his plans.
AAP has been looking for a befitting candidate from Tarn Taran, especially after all political parties have been keenly watching the support for radicals in the area. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh was elected from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat while he was in the Dibrugarh jail in Assam after being named an accused under the National Security Act.
Sandhu was elected MLA from Tarn Taran thrice—in 2002, 2007 and then again in 2012—but he lost in 2017 and 2022. He joined AAP when Congress was ruling the state.
He became a part of active politics in Tarn Taran by joining the family of former MP Surinder Singh Kairon and contested the elections as an Independent candidate in 2002. At the time, the Shiromani Akali Dal had given a ticket to Alwinder Pal Singh Pakhoke from Tarn Taran, while Sandhu kept claiming the ticket. After not getting the ticket, Sandhu took political support from Kairon and contested the elections as an Independent candidate from Tarn Taran and won.
