Jailed 'Waris Punjab De' Chief Amritpal Singh Leads From Khadoor Sahib Seat by Over 1 Lakh Votes

Chandigarh: Jailed ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and Independent candidate Amritpal Singh is leading by a margin of over 1 Lakh votes from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira is trailing behind Amritpal Singh from the seat. The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections is underway, however dynamics in the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat is unlikely to change, as per the sources.

According to the information shared by the ECI, radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh is 1,23,986 votes from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. Singh, who was arrested by the Punjab Police under the National Security Act and is at present lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail. He is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib seat as an Independent candidate.

The police had first attempted to crack down on Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab on March 18, arresting hundreds of his supporters. Singh had managed to escape at the time, but was later arrested and detained on April 23, last year. His election affidavit said that he has 12 criminal cases against him.

The vote counting for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats commenced at 8 am with tight security arrangements in place.

Of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, Congress is so far leading in seven seats, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in three and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in one. Two others are led by independent candidates, Amritpal Singh against and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa against Karamjit Singh Anmol.