Jailed Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh leads in Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat

Amritpal Singh, the jailed Sikh separatist and chief of pro-Khalistan group Waris Punjab De, is leading in Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, data from the Election Commission showed.

Singh, who is fighting the election as an independent candidate, is currently in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail.

As per the early trends at 10 am, Singh was leading with a margin of 30,978 votes, securing 69,903 out of the 1,00,881 votes counted. Congress leader Kulbir Singh Zira was trailing with 38,925 of the votes counted.

On April 23, 2023, the Punjab Police arrested the self-styled Sikh preacher from Moga after he had been on the run for over a month. The 29-year-old was flown to Assam on a special flight and sent to the Dibrugarh Central Jail.

The Punjab Police began cracking down on members of Waris Punjab De, or heirs of Punjab, days after Singh and his supporters stormed a police station in Amritsar on February 23, 2023. This came after one of Singh’s aides was arrested for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping.

Singh had garnered a significant following with his speeches centred around Punjab’s youth and the Sikh religion. He had also publicly supported the demand for Khalistan, an independent state for Sikhs.

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