Amritpal Singh stands for election whilst imprisoned

An announcement from his mother has confirmed that Sikh leader and current political prisoner Bhai Amritpal Singh will stand for nomination for a seat in Punjab in India’s ongoing national election.

The head of social reform group Waris Punjab De (WPD), a prisoner of Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, over 2500km from Amritsar (Punjab), will contest for the Khadoor (also spelled Khadur) Sahib constituency, a town in Tarn Taran, Punjab, as an independent candidate (not representing any party), his mother Balwinder Kaur announced in a press conference on 26th April.

Bhai Amritpal Singh has been imprisoned for a year under the National Security Act, after being subject of the biggest manhunt in history for a month, when Indian forces shutdown Punjab in the situation labelled #PunjabUnderSiege last March. An incident in February 2023 which saw dozens led by Amritpal Singh raid Ajnala police station where torture was reported to be used against detainees was the incident which is cited as his major “crime”.

An advocate for Khalistan (free Sikh homeland movement) and general Sikh sovereignty, Bhai Amritpal Singh became a hugely popular figure for his village-to-village efforts taking on Punjab’s addiction epidemic and calling out the Indian State corruption allowing it. Since then, both Amritpal Singh’s mother and wife have been targeted in acts of intimidation by Indian authorities, whilst he himself has complained of suffering torture, along with the nine other members of WPD he is incarcerated with. However, support for Bhai Amritpal Singh continues, with the Akal Takht Jathedar (head of supreme Sikh authority) recently saying “If Amritpal is a terrorist, all Sikhs are terrorists”.

In previous interviews, Bhai Amritpal Singh said that he would never enter Indian politics due to its limitations for panthic (Sikh community/path focused) outcomes. However, the u-turn is cited as coming due to sangat (Sikh congregation) request. Bhai Amritpal Singh has previously said they will use India’s constitution where necessary for Sikh benefit.

The seat he is contesting for is seen as a panthic seat with history of voting in Sikh political prisoners, with current Shiromani Akali Dal President Simranjeet Singh Mann winning the seat whilst imprisoned in 1989. It is unclear though exactly what the campaign run and possible election will mean for his situation incarcerated. The decision also came after his father visited Amritpal Singh in prison, which saw both concerned about the lack of privacy during their conversation. The period open for votes began last week and end 1st June.

Various groups have come out to support Bhai Amritpal Singh’s decision, including diaspora groups such as a conglomerate of USA based orgs, stating “individuals facing state repression have the strategic right to participate in parliamentary elections to wield power from the authoritarian Indian regime”. However, whether this will translate into popularity in the election polls remains to be seen.