Sukhbir Singh Badal didn’t win Tarn Taran. But results recognise his party as real Akali Dal

B y midday on 14 November 2025, Harmeet Singh Sandhu—AAP’s official nominee—won comfortably by a margin exceeding 12,000 votes in Tarn Taran, a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa finished second, the Waris Punjab De (WPD)–backed independent—endorsed by the Giani Harpreet Singh–led SAD ( Punar Surjeet ) faction—took third, the Congress was a poor fourth, and the BJP a distant fifth. For a constituency long regarded as a Panthic bellwether in Majha, many will be tempted to treat this as a tide chart for 2027. That would be a mistake. Tarn Taran’s by-poll verdict, with a poll turnout of 60.95 per cent is neither a litmus test nor a barometer; it is a sharply etched snapshot—useful when read in context, a risky guide when over-extrapola