AAP hopes to continue winning streak in Punjab bypolls by retaining Tarn Taran Assembly seat

While the ruling party is highlighting 'honest governance and development', the Opposition wants voters to teach the Bhagwant Mann government a lesson for making 'false promises'

New Delhi: The AAP is hoping to continue its winning streak in bypolls held in Punjab after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by retaining the Tarn Taran Assembly constituency by highlighting “honest governance and development”, while its opponents want voters to teach the Bhagwant Mann government a lesson for making “false promises”. Tarn Taran will see bypolls on November 11.

Congress, Akali Dal and BJP have fielded candidates in the bypoll necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir S Sohal, who won the seat in the 2022 polls by a margin of 12,588 votes. They are alleging non-implementation of Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women, mishandling of the drug menace, not providing compensation for flood victims, corruption and law and order troubles.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party is banking on its performance in bypolls to Assembly seats after a not-so-impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections. It had won four of the five bypolls between November 2024 and June 2025 by wresting three seats held by the Congress, though it lost one to the party.

While the Congress managed to defeat the AAP from its seat in the Barnala bypoll, it lost its seat in Dera Banka Nanak, Chhanerwal and Gidderbala to the Kejriwal-led party, which also won the Ludhiana bypoll in June.

The AAP has fielded Harmeet Singh Sandhu, who lost the 2022 polls as an Akali Dal candidate, in the election, hoping to repeat the electoral performance five years ago. Sohal had polled 52,935 votes while Sandhu, as the Akali candidate, had garnered 39,347 votes. The Congress’ Dharambir Agnihotri polled 26,535 votes and finished fourth, while the BJP’s Navreet Singh Hudal was at sixth with 1,176 votes.

A three-term MLA — first as an independent in 2002 and Akali Dal representative in 2007 and 2012 before consecutively losing in 2017 and 2022 — Sandhu will take on the Akali Dal’s Sukhwinder Kaur, Congress Karanbir Singh Burj and BJP’s Navreet Singh Hudal in this bypoll. The counting of votes will be on November 14.

The AAP hopes to repeat its electoral performance in bypolls in the past over one year. Punjab Chief Minister Mann and AAP in-charge Manish Sisodia have already held a clutch of campaign meetings for Sandhu in the constituency.

While Sandhu has pitched the bypoll as an opportunity to choose between “traditional and corrupt” politics and a government that works for the common man, Mann said, “Our government has changed the direction of Punjab's politics. The era of fake promises and family rule is over. Now, Punjab stands for honest governance and development that touches every household.”

Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Badal as well as Congress Punjab chief Amarinder Singh Warring have also hit the campaign trail for their party candidates. 

Harsimrat has asked women voters to teach a “befitting lesson” to the Aam Aadmi Party in the Tarn Taran bypoll for making “false” promises to give them an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month. Warring has asked people to hold AAP leaders accountable for their party's “unfulfilled” promises.

The BJP has alleged that the Mann government has “misled” the flood-hit people by announcing that compensation would be disbursed within 45 days, but did nothing at the ground level.