Shaky alliance in Tarn Taran

Manmeet Singh Gill

Post-Emergency, the Congress has won the Tarn Taran seat -- an Akali stronghold -- only in 1992, when the SAD boycotted the election. The voters elected Manjinder Singh Behla and Harmeet Singh Sandhu, both contesting as Independents, in 1977 and 2002. But the duo was backed by Akali factions against the party candidates.

The SAD has named Sandhu, a two-time MLA, as its candidate, while the Congress has again fielded Dharambir Agnihotri, who lost to the former in 2012. Agnihotri had been defeated by Akali stalwart Ranjit Singh Brahmpura from Naushera Pannua seat in 2007.

AAP had given the ticket to former police officer and champion wrestler Kartar Singh. AAP candidate Bhai Baldeep Singh had bagged 13,500 votes from this Assembly segment under Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The tussle between BJP minister Anil Joshi, whose native village falls in this constituency, and the Akali MLA reached a flashpoint when the former's brother was allegedly manhandled by Akali councillors before the Municipal Council elections last year. A section of the residents says local BJP workers had opposed Sandhu in the 2012 Assembly elections as well. Later, the alliance partners independently contested the MC elections.

With around 44 per cent Jat Sikhs and about 27 per cent Mazhabi Sikhs among the voters, Sandhu is perceived to be on a firm footing.

The constituency is grappling with drug addiction. Hundreds of heroin addicts visit the OST (opioid substitution treatment) centre daily. Many of them come for buprenorphine, a government-provided substitute to heroin and other drugs. The brewing and sale of illicit liquor is common in most villages, particularly Kot and Jagatpura. “As the hooch trade is patronised by sarpanches, the police look the other way,” says a resident of Chappa village.