AMRITSAR: Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran district , once a militancy hotbed in Punjab, may have long returned to peaceful ways but the land remains dotted with religious places dedicated to erstwhile militants.This Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, which was created mostly from the former parliamentary seat of Tarn Taran following delimitation in 2008, has always returned Akali candidates to Parliament since its inception. During the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Rattan Singh Ajnala of SAD defeated Rana Gurjit Singh of Congress with a margin of 32,260 votes. While Ajnala polled 4,67,980 votes, Gurjit got 4,35,720 only.In the next general election in 2014, SAD(B) candidate Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, then known as ‘Majhe da Jarnail’ and second in command after party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal , defeated Congress’s Harminder Singh Gill with a margin of 1,00,569 votes. Brahmpura polled 4,67,332 votes while Gill got 3,66,763 only.Interestingly, both the Akali MPs – Ajnala and Brahmpura -- have now left SAD to float their own political outfit – SAD (Taksali), with Brahmpura as president. Since it is still a new party, formed on December 16, 2018, the Taksali leaders are for now keen on forging alliances with other like-minded parties so as to give both SAD-BJP combine and Congress party a tough challenge in the polls.During the last parliamentary elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also fielded Bhai Baldeep Singh from Khadoor Sahib seat. However, despite the AAP wave in Punjab, which saw its four candidates win in the state, Baldeep lost. SAD(A) candidate Simranjit Singh barely managed to get 13,990 votes and even forfeited his security deposit. Many assembly constituencies of this Lok Sabha constituency share border with Pakistan and are struggling with rampant drug abuse, especially Khemkaran. It becomes a major issue during polls, with political parties of all hues making tall promises of drug eradication and rehabilitation of addicts in their election campaign.Given the geopolitics of this land, which is primarily agrarian, it is little surprise that come elections, and all political parties vow voters with promises of developing religious towns of Baba Bakala, Tarn Taran, Khadoor Sahib and Goindwal Sahib. Yet, all these remain mere words, for there is hardly anything done for the upliftment of the people.The constituency has very few industries, as the few which were here have relocated or shut shop. The Goindwal Sahib thermal plant, conceived in 1994, helped the youth find jobs locally but it has had its share of problems, and consistency has never been its strength.Some of the well-known people from this constituency are former chief minister Partap Singh Kairon, former Union minister Manohar Singh Gill and Bollywood actor Paintal. The constituency also remained in news during the ‘Save Sarabjit’ campaign. Sarabjit, a resident of Bhikhiwind, was jailed in Pakistan after he strayed across the border. Despite the efforts of his relatives here to secure his release, he died there after being attacked by fellow jail inmates.

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