Tarn Taran, Nov. 15 -- The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday retained the Tarn Taran assembly seat, with its candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu, a three-time MLA from the constituency, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by 12,091 votes in a five-cornered contest. With this victory, AAP has now won six of the seven bypolls held since it came to power in March 2022, fortifying its hold on Punjab ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. Sandhu secured a total of 42,649 votes against Randhawa's 30,558. Randhawa was leading in the first three rounds of counting before Sandhu overtook her and held a steady lead thereafter. Celebrations broke out at AAP offices in Tarn Taran and Chandigarh, with workers dancing to dhol beats, bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets. Independent candidate Mandeep Singh Khalsa, who was backed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) and other Panthic groups, including breakaway SAD factions, finished third with 19,620 votes. Congress candidate Karanbir Singh secured 15,078 votes and the BJP's Harjit Singh Sandhu received 6,239 votes, leading both to forfeit their security deposits. The Election Commission said 609 voters opted for NOTA (None of the Above). After the counting, returning officer Gurmeet Singh handed over the Certificate of Election to the winning candidate. The vote counting was held in the presence of general observer Pushpa Satyani and district election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Rahul. Of the total 15 candidates in the fray, 12 forfeited their security deposits. Among them eight were independents, including Mandeep Singh (873 votes), Harbrinder Kaur Usma (547), Neetu Shatran Wale (464), Vijay Kumar (457), Jaswant Singh Sohal (147), Arun Kumar Khurmi Rajput (113), Harpal Singh Bhangu (104) and Komalpreet Singh (68). The Sachho Sach Party's Sham Lal Gandhi received 123 votes, while Naib Singh of the Indian Justice Party finished last with 64 votes. During the polling held on Tuesday, a 61% turnout was recorded, with 1,17,723 of the 1,92,838 registered voters casting their votes. This was nearly 5% lower than the 66% polling percentage recorded in the 2022 assembly polls, and well below the 71% turnout in 2017. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal who had won the seat in the 2022 assembly elections. Sandhu, a veteran of this Panthic constituency, first won Tarn Taran as an independent in 2002 before securing the seat again in 2007 and 2012 as a SAD candidate. In 2007, he defeated Congress' Manjit Singh by 16,534 votes and in the 2012 elections, he beat Congress' Dharambir Agnihotri by 4,621 votes. But he lost to Agnihotri in 2017 by 14,629 votes and to AAP's Dr Sohal in 2022 by 13,588 votes. He quit the SAD in November 2024 and joined the AAP in July 2025, and was subsequently appointed the halqa in-charge. Officials said Sandhu secured a heavy lead in urban segments of Tarn Taran town, while Randhawa drew most of her support from rural areas. "Sandhu has been active here for over two decades. He also brought a substantial section of the old SAD cadre with him when he switched to the AAP. That helped him consolidate his position," said a local political observer. Political analyst Amanpreet Singh Gill, a Tarn Taran native and professor of political science at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadar Khalsa College, Delhi, said, "Divisions among Akalis have been the single largest factor behind AAP's victory in this election." In a statement, AAP said the "one-sided victory" reaffirmed that Punjab supported work-based politics, clean governance and the leadership of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and national convener ArvindKejriwal. Kejriwal posted on X, "This historic victory proves that Punjab overwhelmingly supports the politics of work and CM Bhagwant Mann's honest leadership. It clearly shows that Punjab wants work-based politics. Punjab has once again reposed faith in AAP. This is the people's victory and the victory of every hard working volunteer. Heartiest congratulations to the people of Punjab and all our workers."...