Chandigarh, Nov 14 (IANS) Despite facing the defeat, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday described his party’s “resounding performance” in the Tarn Taran Vidhan Sabha bye-election as “a forceful moral knock out to all the combined anti-Akali, anti-Punjab and anti-Panthic forces”.

In a swipe at the abuse of state machinery, Badal offered “snide congratulations” to the Punjab DGP and his officers for making a mockery of their oath and working as party workers of AAP.

“I congratulate DGP Gaurav Yadav and his team comprising state Intelligence chief P.K. Sinha, CP Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, DIG (Ferozepur Range) Harmanbir Singh, SSPs of Tarn Taran, Amritsar (Rural), Batala and Moga districts for ensuring the victory of Punjab Police candidate Harmeet Sandhu in the by-election,” Badal said in a statement.

Turning to the political opponents of his party, Badal said, “For the past 10 years, the Congress, AAP, the BJP and the so-called Panthic outfits have given nothing to Khalsa Panth and Punjab except a highly-funded malicious propaganda and hate campaign to mislead Panth and Punjab against their mother party, the SAD. They secretly conspired to deprive Punjabis of their own regional and Panthic voice. And sadly, their lies succeeded for some time.”

Badal said the fight in Tarn Taran was between Punjab and Panth represented by SAD on one side and the might of the state and its police plus their co-conspirators, on the other.

“But even their secret under-cover alliance and mutual vote transfer conspiracies could not stop Akali and Panthic resurgence,” he said.

He said all those who carried out “vicious propaganda” against SAD could barely save their security deposits, while the Congress and the BJP actually lost their deposits.

Badal said the Khalsa Panth had also finally seen through and “exposed” those who sought to “misuse” the holy Sri Akal Takht Sahib against them.

“Panth and Punjab showed these evil conspirators their true place and delivered their forceful verdict against these forces backed by governments and other anti-Panth forces,” he added.

Ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls, state ruling AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu retained the party’s Tarn Taran Assembly seat, defeating his nearest rival, Sukhwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who was leading in the initial rounds of counting, by over 12,000 votes.

This bypoll was seen as a crucial test for the Chief Minister and the AAP that had won five of the six bypolls held in the state since it came to power in March 2022.

Independent candidate Mandeep Singh Khalsa, backed by hardline Sikh groups and jailed MP Amritpal Singh’s faction, was in the third spot, while Congress candidate Karanbir Singh Burj was at the fourth.

AAP’s Sandhu secured 42,649 votes, holding a margin of 12,091 votes. SAD’s Kaur was in second place with 30,558 votes, followed by Khalsa at 19,620 votes, Congress candidate Karanbir Singh at 15,078 votes, and BJP’s Harjit Singh Sandhu at 6,239 votes.

–IANS

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