As Punjab heads towards the 2027 Assembly elections, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) is expanding its political and organisational presence across the state. The outfit’s growing activity comes with one key electoral reference point from the 2024 Lok Sabha election: Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa together led in 15 of the 18 Assembly segments falling under the Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot parliamentary constituencies.
Both Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election as Independents. Their 15 Assembly-segment leads were therefore not wins recorded by Waris Punjab De. The results are now being viewed as a geographical reference point as the organisation builds its structure for the 2027 Assembly polls.
Amritpal Singh won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat with 4,04,430 votes, defeating Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira by 1,97,120 votes.
He led in eight of the nine Assembly segments under the parliamentary constituency: Jandiala, Tarn Taran, Khem Karan, Patti, Khadoor Sahib, Baba Bakala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Zira.
Congress led in Kapurthala, making it the only Assembly segment in the constituency where Amritpal did not lead.
Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa won the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat with 2,98,062 votes, defeating AAP’s Karamjit Singh Anmol by 70,053 votes.
Khalsa led in seven of the nine Assembly segments under Faridkot. AAP led in Faridkot and Kotkapura.
Taken together, the two Independent candidates led in 15 of the 18 Assembly segments across the two parliamentary constituencies in 2024.
This does not establish that the same support will transfer to a 2027 Assembly election. Lok Sabha and Assembly elections involve different candidates, issues and local political equations.
The organisation has since moved beyond the two parliamentary constituencies and begun appointing constituency-level leaders across Punjab.
By September 2026, it had named 24 halqa in-charges, according to party spokespersons quoted by The Times of India. The organisation has described these appointments as part of preparations for the 2027 Assembly election.
Among the announced faces are Satwant Singh from Bassi Pathana, Daljit Singh Kalsi from Ajnala and Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala from Moga. Other appointments include Iqbal Singh Jhunda for Amargarh, Lakhwinder Singh alias Rabbi Kandola for Sri Anandpur Sahib, Bhupinder Singh Sajjan for Sham Chaurasi and Kulwant Singh Rauke for Bagha Purana.
The organisation has also appointed Mandeep Singh Sidhu as halqa in-charge for Talwandi Sabo and Lakhvir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana for Maur. Party sources said both are expected to contest from their respective constituencies.
This gives Waris Punjab De an organisational footprint extending beyond the Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot areas into different parts of Majha, Malwa and Doaba.
The 2024 Khadoor Sahib result remains the organisation’s strongest electoral reference point.
Amritpal led in eight of its nine Assembly segments. The organisation has since expanded into other Majha constituencies, including Ajnala and Majitha.
The move indicates an attempt to establish constituency-level structures beyond the areas where Amritpal had a clear lead in 2024.
The organisation has also increased its activity in Malwa.
Moga, Gill, Kotkapura, Maur and Talwandi Sabo have emerged among the constituencies where it has announced or appointed political faces.
The appointment of Mandeep Singh Sidhu in Talwandi Sabo is particularly significant because the constituency had earlier figured in speculation over where Amritpal Singh might contest.
With Sidhu now appointed as the halqa in-charge, reports have indicated that he is expected to contest from the seat.
Another issue drawing political attention is Amritpal Singh’s possible second Assembly constituency.
Dhuri, represented by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has been mentioned in reports about possible options for Amritpal. However, no final official announcement has established Dhuri as his second constituency.
The distinction is important because reports of internal discussions do not amount to a confirmed candidature.
Kapurthala presents a different electoral picture.
It was the only one of the nine Assembly segments under Khadoor Sahib where Amritpal did not lead in 2024. Despite that, Waris Punjab De has been working to establish an organisational presence in the Doaba region.
This shows that the organisation’s current expansion is not limited to constituencies where its associated candidates had led in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The 2024 results show that the two Independent candidates secured substantial vote totals in constituencies where AAP, Congress, SAD and BJP also had significant support.
In Khadoor Sahib, Amritpal received 4,04,430 votes. Congress received 2,07,310 and AAP 1,94,836.
In Faridkot, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa received 2,98,062 votes, followed by AAP with 2,28,009 and Congress with around 1.60 lakh votes.
These figures establish the size of the vote secured by the two Independent candidates in 2024. They do not, however, establish how much support from any particular party could move to Waris Punjab De in 2027.
Candidate selection, alliances, local issues and constituency-level campaigning could all change the voting pattern.
The organisation’s expansion has also included people from outside the traditional electoral structure.
On September 23, former Enforcement Directorate deputy director Niranjan Singh and former Punjab Police DSP Balwinder Singh Sekhon formally joined Akali Dal Waris Punjab De.
Their entry came as the organisation continued preparing for the 2027 Assembly election.
Another important issue is the organisation’s formal electoral status.
As of the latest available reporting, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) had not received formal registration or an election symbol from the Election Commission of India.
This means its eventual electoral name and symbol remain relevant to its preparations for the Assembly election.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election gave Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa a significant geographical footprint across Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot.
They led in 15 of the 18 Assembly segments across the two parliamentary constituencies, but they did so as Independent candidates, not as candidates of Waris Punjab De.
The organisation is now attempting to build on that political visibility by appointing constituency-level faces across Punjab.
Its current map extends beyond the 2024 Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot footprint, with activity reported across Majha, Malwa and Doaba. At the same time, the party’s formal registration and election symbol remain pending, while questions remain over how much of its 2024 electoral support can translate into Assembly-level votes in 2027.
For now, the clearest measurable reference point is the 2024 result: two Independent candidates associated with the political current around Waris Punjab De led in 15 of 18 Assembly segments across Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot.
That figure, combined with the organisation’s ongoing expansion, is driving the political discussion around whether Waris Punjab De could emerge as a dark horse in the 2027 Punjab.
