Chandigarh, Jun 4 (PTI) Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of one of the assassin of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, are set to make their maiden entry in Parliament, according to current trends.

On Tuesday afternoon, both Singh and Khalsa are comfortably placed against their nearest rivals from Khadoor Sahib and Faridkot parliamentary seats respectively.

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Political greenhorn Singh is lodged in a jail in Assam after being slapped under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) a year ago.

Both Singh and Khalsa contested the electoral battle as Independents.

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The radical Sikh preacher is the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit and he fought the election from the Sikh-dominated Khadoor Sahib constituency.

He was leading by a margin of more than 1,44,000 votes over his nearest rival and Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.

His father Tarsem Singh on Tuesday thanked the Almighty and expressed gratitude to the 'sangat' (community) for their overwhelming support.

"It was the 'sangat' which fought this battle," he told PTI.

From youth to women and elderly people, everyone contributed in this election, said Singh who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt.

Singh's father had earlier said his son was not willing to fight an electoral contest but he changed his mind at the instance of 'sangat'.

His supporters, mainly youth in the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency, praised him for weaning them away from drugs and making them baptised Sikh.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (Amritsar) head and Khalistan (separate Sikh homeland) sympathiser Simranjit Singh Mann extended his party's support to Singh and did not field any candidate from the Khadoor Sahib seat.

Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, led Singh's poll campaign. Paramjit Kaur Khalra had unsuccessfully contested from the Khadoor Sahib seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

However, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had asked people to evaluate if Singh had been "propped up by the central agencies".

He asked the people to determine whether a person who had acquired 'Sikhi saroop' a year earlier was fit to lead them. He also pointed out the dichotomy in Singh's earlier stand that he did not want to enter politics and was only interested in 'amrit parchar' and fighting the drug menace.

The radical Sikh preacher who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt.

He and his associates were booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

The Khadoor Sahib constituency, which is known as a 'panthic' seat, has voters from all three regions -- ?Majha, Malwa and Doaba. It has nine assembly segments Jandiala, Tarn Taran, Khem Karan, Patti, Khadoor Sahib, Baba Bakala, Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Zira.

Seven assembly segments are held by the AAP while one each by the Congress and an Independent.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)