Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), the political outfit associated with jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, has started preparing for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections by announcing candidates for five constituencies.
The names announced so far include Amritpal Singh himself as the party’s projected Chief Ministerial face, his close aide Papalpreet Singh, two other associates who are currently in jail, and Satwant Singh, son of Kehar Singh who was executed in the Indira Gandhi assassination case.
The party has not yet finalised the Assembly constituency from which Amritpal Singh will contest. Talwandi Sabo and Khadoor Sahib are under consideration, according to the information available so far.
Amritpal is currently in jail and had won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate.
Satwant Singh was the first candidate announced by Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and he has been named from the Bassi Pathana reserved constituency. Satwant Singh is the son of Kehar Singh, who was convicted in the case related to the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and was executed in 1989 and the announcement of Satwant Singh's candidature marked the beginning of the party's formal candidate selection for the 2027 Assembly elections.
The party has now announced Papalpreet Singh as its candidate from Majitha.
Papalpreet is a close associate and long-time aide of Amritpal Singh and he has also worked as Amritpal's media adviser. A native of Marari village in the Majitha area, Papalpreet has been associated with social and religious activities in the region and according to the information provided, Papalpreet had remained absconding along with Amritpal Singh after the Ajnala police station incident in February 2023.
He was subsequently arrested and detained under the National Security Act.
Papalpreet and Amritpal were among those lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam following their detention under the NSA. Papalpreet's NSA detention was revoked in April 2025, after which he was shifted to Punjab and he is currently lodged in Goindwal Sahib Jail in connection with the Ajnala-related case.
Papalpreet has also worked as a freelance journalist and he has been associated with campaigns concerning drug abuse, sports and social activities in his native area.
Another prominent name in the party's list is Daljit Singh Kalsi, who has been named from Ajnala.
Kalsi is an associate of Amritpal Singh and was among those detained under the NSA following the events of 2023 and he was initially lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam along with other associates of Amritpal.
He was transferred from Assam to Punjab in March 2025 after his NSA detention was revoked, however, he continues to face other cases in Punjab and remains in custody. The party's decision to field Kalsi from Ajnala is significant because the constituency is directly linked to the February 2023 incident at the Ajnala police station, after which several members and associates of Waris Punjab De were arrested.
Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala has been announced as the party's candidate from Moga.
Bukkanwala is described as one of the co-founders of Waris Punjab De and was associated with the organisation during the period when it was headed by the late actor and activist Deep Sidhu, he later became associated with Amritpal Singh.
Like Kalsi and Papalpreet, Bukkanwala was detained under the NSA following the 2023 crackdown involving Waris Punjab De, he spent time in Dibrugarh Central Jail before being shifted to Punjab in March 2025.
He is currently lodged in Bathinda Central Jail.
The fifth name on the party's announced list is Amritpal Singh, although his candidature is different from the other four because his constituency has not yet been finalised. Amritpal has been projected as the Chief Ministerial face of Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and the party is considering Talwandi Sabo or Khadoor Sahib as his possible Assembly constituency, but no final seat has been announced so far.
Amritpal is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam in connection with the Ajnala case. Despite being in jail, he contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Khadoor Sahib as an independent candidate and won the seat.
The five names announced so far show the different backgrounds of the people being brought into Waris Punjab De's 2027 electoral campaign.
Satwant Singh's candidature is linked to his family's history in the Indira Gandhi assassination case, Papalpreet Singh is a close associate of Amritpal and has been involved in media and social activities and Daljit Singh Kalsi and Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala have organisational links with Waris Punjab De and have spent time in custody following the 2023 events.
Amritpal Singh, meanwhile, remains the central political face of the party and is being projected as its CM candidate, but for now, the party has announced candidates for Bassi Pathana, Majitha, Ajnala and Moga, while Amritpal Singh's Assembly seat remains undecided.
