BJP fields district chief for Punjab Assembly bypoll

Chandigarh, Aug 14 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced its district president, Harjit Singh Sandhu, as the party's candidate for the upcoming Tarn Taran bypoll.

Sandhu, an agriculturist and brick-kiln owner, began his political journey with the Youth Akali Dal in 2007. He served as circle president from 2009 to 2012, then as district general secretary until 2015, and was later elevated to state president of the Youth Akali Dal.

In 2022, following differences with the Akali leadership, he formally joined the BJP. Tarn Taran, a Panthic stronghold, has traditionally given little support to the BJP.

In the 2022 Punjab assembly elections, the party's candidate, Navreet Singh Hundal, secured only 1,176 votes from the constituency.

While most major parties have declared their candidates for the bypoll, the Congress and Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) are yet to announce their candidates.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, who had won the seat with 52,935 votes, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal's Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

Sandhu, a three-time MLA, later joined AAP and is now its candidate for the bypoll. The Sukhbir Badal-led SAD has fielded Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa of the Azad Group, which recently merged with the party.

BJP leaders expressed confidence in the party's prospects, stating that the cadre has grown stronger over the years and they expect a good performance from party candidate Sandhu.

--IANS

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