Independents Engineer Rashid, Amritpal Singh, Indira Gandhi’s assassin’s son Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa close to electoral victory

Six Independent candidates are poised to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with the latest trends from the counting of votes on Tuesday showing jailed pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh, Kashmiri politician Engineer Rashid and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of Beant Singh, in the lead.   

In the 2019 elections, four independent candidates made it to the Lok Sabha, while three independent candidates — two from Kerala and one from Assam — secured victory in the 2014 general elections.

The highest number of winning independent candidates was seen in 1957, when they bagged 42 seats, followed by 37 in 1952. Independent candidates won 20 seats in the 1962 elections, 35 in 1967, 14 in 1971 and 12 seats in 1989. The lowest count was observed in 1991 when only one won out of 5,514 independent candidates. Check out Election Results 2024 LIVE updates

Here are the six independents who are leading as per the latest Election Commission data (as of 5 p.m.):

Mohmad Haneefa 

Mohmad Haneefa has established a lead of over 28,000 votes over his nearest Congress rival from the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency. A former National Conference leader, Mohmad Haneefa quit the party along with its entire Kargil unit to contest as an Independent after the Congress fielded Tsering Namgyal as the INDIA bloc candidate. He is the lone candidate from the Shia Muslim-dominated Kargil region. 

This is the first major electoral battle in the region after it was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir and granted Union territory status in 2019. The BJP won the seat in the 2014 general elections and retained it in 2019. The Congress has won the seat the maximum number of times.

Engineer Rashid

The jailed Kashmiri leader, locked in a triangular contest and separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajad Gani Lone in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, is set to defeat former Jammu and Kashmir CM and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. While the EC is yet to declare the result, trends indicate that Mr Rashid has extended his lead by over two lakh votes. The NC leader has also conceded defeat from the Lok Sabha seat.

Amritpal Singh

Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh is leading over Congress’s Kulbir Singh Zira by a margin of over one lakh votes in Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat, according to the Election Commission trends. Amritpal Singh, the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, is currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act. The pro-Khalistani leader fought the election as an Independent candidate.

Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai 

Independent candidate Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai is leading against BJP’s Lalubhai Babubhai Patel by a margin of 6,000 votes. The result is yet to be declared.

Vishal (Dada) Prakashbapu Patil

The grandson of ex-Maharashtra chief minister late Vasantdada Patil, who was eyeing a party ticket from the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, is leading as the Independent candidate. His nearest rival is Sanjay Patil of the BJP.

Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa

As per EC trends, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa was leading in Faridkot against his nearest rival AAP’s Karamjit Singh Anmol by a margin of more than 40,000 votes. Mr. Khalsa is the son of one of the two assassins of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi