Punjab By-Poll Scandal: SSP Suspended Amid Election Interference Claims

The action comes just ahead of the Tarn Taran assembly bypoll on November 11 after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal met the EC-appointed observer and submitted a written complaint of misuse of power by the SSP to help the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar has been assigned the additional charge of Tarn Taran SSP, the Election Commission said.

An Akali Dal delegation also met the Chief Electoral Officer in Chandigarh and submitted the complaint.

The SAD alleged that the AAP government was using the state police to influence the by-election process.

In the memorandum, the SAD claimed that party workers and leaders from Tarn Taran had been "forcibly detained" by police officials ahead of the bypoll.

They alleged that the official machinery was being misused to target the candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, her family members and SAD supporters.

The Chief Electoral Officer said there are a total of 192,838 voters in the constituency, which includes 100,933 men, 91,897 women and eight third-gender voters.

There are 1,357 service voters, 1,657 voters aged above 85 years, 306 NRI voters, and 1,488 voters with disabilities.

The number of young voters aged between 18 and 19 years stands at 3,333. He said there are 222 polling stations set up at 114 polling station locations, of which 60 are urban and 162 are rural.

The Tarn Taran bypoll on November 11 was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, who had won the seat with 52,935 votes, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal's Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

Fifteen candidates are in the fray. They include Sukhwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Harjit Singh Sandhu of the BJP, Harmeet Singh Sandhu of the Aam Aadmi Party and Karanbir Singh of the Congress.

- IANS