The Congress suffered a major blow in the Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll after it lost its security deposit, triggering serious questions about the party’s strategy and the functioning of the state unit under president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
The bypoll, held after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, ended with a clear victory for AAP’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu, who secured 42,649 votes. SAD’s Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa finished second with 30,558 votes, while the Congress candidate Karanbir Singh Burj managed only 15,078 votes, far below the required figure to save the deposit.
Independent candidate Mandeep Singh, backed by Waris Punjab De, even outperformed the Congress, polling 19,620 votes, while the BJP finished with 6,239 votes.
Party insiders and local observers say the Congress downfall in Tarn Taran was not sudden but the result of a series of organisational and strategic missteps. Ground mobilisation remained weak throughout the campaign, with booth-level teams poorly coordinated and unable to match AAP’s strong presence or SAD’s renewed push in the constituency.
Many workers admitted that the campaign lacked direction from the start, as the party failed to present a clear message to voters. While AAP focused on governance issues and SAD tapped into regional and panthic sentiments, the Congress did not offer a convincing reason for voters to support its candidate, leading to confusion and lack of energy on the ground.
Senior leaders, including Raja Warring, made only limited appearances, and their visits did not translate into sustained outreach. Local cadres say the state leadership underestimated the challenge and ignored early signs of organisational weaknesses, especially in rural areas where the Congress has traditionally depended on its worker network. Without visible leadership and without a strong narrative, the party’s traditional voters shifted towards SAD or the Independent candidate, further shrinking the Congress vote share.
The leadership also misread voter sentiment in Tarn Taran. The constituency, known for its strong panthic influence and farmer-driven political mood, responded more to SAD’s messaging and the Waris Punjab De-backed Independent than to the Congress’s low-key campaign. "This disconnect between the party and local voters became visible from the early counting rounds, where Congress lagged far behind and never showed signs of recovery", say sources.
For many analysts, the loss of the security deposit of Congress shows how sharply the party has declined in a district where it once held a strong base. "The result has intensified pressure on Raja Warring, with party workers questioning whether the current leadership understands the ground realities of Punjab politics. With the 2027 Assembly elections approaching, the party urgently needs to rebuild its organisation, resolve inside conflicts, reconnect with voters and rethink its strategy if it hopes to avoid further setbacks in the state", said party insiders.