AAP Wins Tarn Taran; SAD Gets Another Chance

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Tarn Taran Assembly constituency by-poll in Panjab, even as its vote share declined by 4.5% points from the 2022 Assembly election. The victory extends the party’s run in by-polls, following earlier wins in Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, and Ludhiana West in 2024 and 2025. AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu, who joined the party after leaving the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) shortly before the by-poll, won by a margin of 12,091 votes, defeating SAD candidate Sukhwinder Kaur. Though Tarn Taran is a SAD stronghold, given the challenge from independent Mandeep Singh—backed by Akali Dal (Waris Panjab De) and breakaway SAD—the party coming in second has given a new lease of life to the party which has been showing up at the bottom in elections since 2017. This improvement in tally sends a message of revival for a party many had written off. Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann called the result a victory of hard work, emphasising the win reflects the people's preference for effective governance. However, AAP’s use of police machinery has been public knowledge. While SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had earlier complained about fake cases on party workers, a day after the polls the SAD candidate's daughter Kanchanpreet Kaur was booked for poll violations. A day after the results, SAD Information Technology head Nachhatar Singh was taken into remand by the police. Independent candidate Mandeep said, ‘Had I not contested, SAD would have won.’ The confession points at how Sikh voters in the constituency were split between the moderate SAD and Mandeep’s hardline backers. Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Karanbir Singh Burj secured fourth place, while the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Harjit Singh Sandhu finished fifth. Both the INC and BJP candidates lost their security deposits. INC, the principal opposition in the state, was caught in by internal factionalism and Panjab INC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s irresponsible comments targeting former marginalized caste leaders and mocking Sikh children. BJP's performance shows the party has been unable to plant itself in Panjab. The result also raises speculation that BJP might ask SAD for a re-alliance in the 2027 Assembly elections (earlier coverage).