Chandigarh: Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), the unregistered political party led by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, has become the first outfit in Punjab to declare its candidate for the assembly elections expected to be held early next year.
On Sunday, it declared that 61-year-old Satwant Singh will be its candidate from the reserved Bassi Pathana seat, which falls under the Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. Satwant is the son of Kehar Singh, a government employee who was hanged for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In fielding Satwant, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) appears to not just cast a wider net for the panthic vote in Punjab, but also to rally splinter Akali groups behind a common agenda and put itself in direct contest with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Satwant’s father Kehar Singh was convicted in the conspiracy to assassinate Indira Gandhi who was shot by two of her bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, at her residence on 31 October, 1984. While Beant Singh was killed by security personnel right after, Satwant Singh was hanged alongside Kehar Singh at Tihar Jail on 6 January, 1989.
Insiders say the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) believes that there is a revival of panthic fervour among the rural peasantry in Punjab and by offering tickets to former militants or their relatives, this sentiment can be harvested for electoral gains.
Its announcement of Satwant as its candidate came a week after Mandeep Singh, its candidate for the Tarn Taran bypoll, held in November 2025, broke away from the outfit for “ignoring” the families of those he said had sacrificed their lives for the cause of Khalistan during Punjab’s militancy period. Mandeep is the brother of Sandeep Singh, alias Sunny, an accused in the November 2022 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri.
In interviews to multiple Youtube channels last week, Mandeep said he had decided to float his own outfit because he felt Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) was giving more importance to people from other parties than those who deserved it. “I am in touch with families of such deserving persons. They, too, feel that they are not being given their due,” he said.
Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur of the department of political science, DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh, said Satwant Singh’s candidature should be seen as an attempt by Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) to place itself in direct contest with SAD. “They cannot expect to get votes merely by saying we are another Sikh party. It needs to demonstrate that its politics is more uncompromising and more connected to historical grievances of the Sikh community,” she said. She added that the move is also intended to push other Akali factions to respond to this candidature and shift the discourse towards panthic issues, an arena in which it believes it currently holds ideological advantage.
The Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) came into existence last January, offering a major panthic alternative to the SAD. It is headed by Amritpal Singh, the radical preacher-turned-Lok Sabha MP lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, earlier under provisions of the stringent National Security Act (NSA), and now under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Another leader of the outfit, Sarabjeet Singh, is the MP from Faridkot. Sarabjit is the son of Indira Gandhi’s assassin Beant Singh. Sarabjeet’s sister Amrit Kaur Maloa had also expressed her desire to contest from Bassi Pathana seat as an Independent candidate.
The decision to field Satwant Singh from the seat also comes at a time when Amritpal’s outfit is under tremendous pressure from the SAD (Punar Surjeet), a breakaway faction of the Akali Dal headed by former Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh. Giani Harpreet Singh had told media persons last week that, if Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) is talking about the panth, it should give at least 35 percent of its tickets to families of ‘martyrs’.
The former jathedar’s political outfit had briefly joined hands with Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) but parted ways after differences over declaration of Amritpal as the chief ministerial face. Bibi Jagir Kaur, another leader of SAD (Punar Surjeet), has openly declared that the outfit will not accept Amritpal as the chief ministerial face of a joint panthic grouping.
At the same time, rebel SAD MLA from Dakha, Manpreet Singh Ayali, shifted his support from the SAD (Punar Surjeet) and formally joined Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) in June. He had told media persons at the time that the Amritpal-led political outfit would pursue the demand for Khalistan through democratic means.
Also Read: Inside Modi-Sukhbir Badal meet: Eye on 2027 Punjab polls, an Akali bid to revive an old alliance
Claimants to panthic vote
Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) is not the only claimant to the panthic vote ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. The Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government’s push for the parole of Jagtar Singh Hawara also assumes significance in this context.
Mann first wrote to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in this regard on 8 August, seeking 10 days’ parole for Hawara on humanitarian grounds so that he could meet his ailing mother. On Wednesday, Mann met the Governor and pressed the case, even assuring him that the Punjab government could make the necessary law-and-order arrangements.
Hawara is a former Babbar Khalsa militant who was convicted for his role in the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Beant Singh was killed by a human bomb outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on 31 August, 1995.
Hawara was sentenced to death by a trial court, but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. He is regarded by sections of the Sikh community as a political prisoner or “Bandi Singh”. His case has over the years remained a highly emotive issue in panthic politics. Radical Sikhs have been squatting at Mohali-Chandigarh border since January 2023 to demand the release of Hawara, among others, under the aegis of Quami Insaaf Morcha.
Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur explained that the political climate in Punjab has changed, at least temporarily, with focus shifting to panthic issues, following the release and subsequent withdrawal of Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj.
“Political parties believe that the manner in which the public started watching the film in gurdwaras points towards an increased sensitivity to panthic issues. And it is not just limited to the Majha region. No party wants to be seen as remaining aloof,” she said.
Meanwhile, leaders and supporters of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), facilitated by Chandigarh Police, held a protest march here on 29 July to demand the release of Amritpal Singh and others. Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh, the outfit’s officiating president, said in a press conference Tuesday that the parliamentary board of the outfit will decide on ticket allocation transparently. Sukhwinder Singh Agwan, the nephew of Indira Gandhi’s assassin Satwant Singh, was earlier this year inducted into the outfit’s parliamentary board.
On Wednesday, members of the parliamentary board led by Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh declared the names of those appointed in charge for five assembly seats. These include Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala for Moga and Daljeet Kalsi for Ajnala. Both are seen as close associates of Amritpal Singh and were detained under NSA along with him following the attack on Ajnala police station in February 2023. Though their period of detention under NSA is over, both continue to be in jail on other criminal charges. Members of the outfit’s parliamentary board said Wednesday that five-member committees appointed by Bukkanwala and Kalsi will begin canvassing on their behalf while they are in jail.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Punjab municipal polls: AAP retains its base as Congress, Akalis & BJP fail to set the tone for 2027